Bildwege
Participatory billboard portrait project with residents in the port of Hamburg
An image of you is an image of this island.
After several more “classical” projects/exhibitions, we felt a strong interest in changing our approach: From a visual export of images to a more interactive form of photography.
We wanted our photography to be both public and participatory. By displaying the images on site for public viewing and discussion, they would serve as a means of self-reflection for those portrayed. The perspective of the people of Wilhelmsburg was to be central. Rather than being ‚portrayed‘, they would have a say in how and where a portrait of them would be taken.
We set up an open workshop, invited people in, made appointments, discussed ideas, walked around the island of Wilhelmsburg with them, took thousands of photographs, printed a huge number of them, took them back to the subjects and gave them the final choice. The selected portraits were then mounted on billboards in the neighbourhood for family, friends and the public to see.