For the past five semesters, the projects of the photography section have focused on the PORTRAIT genre. This winter semester 2023/24, however, no bodies were to be depicted. Instead, the attempt should be made to illuminate a person’s personal belongings and private rooms, i.e. the objects and spaces that describe a person. The course topic PORTRAIT WITHOUT BODY was captured using an analogue or digital method, depending on individual preference and previous experience. Using small series of images and short texts, the students tell stories about people in different situations, including people who cannot be depicted because they live in a precarious or illegal situation; people who intervene in the outdoor space of “nature” and thus shape it; they shed light on the space and objects of people who work on art and music. Pictures are also presented that depict and thus archive found objects – on the basis of which former owners can be read and imagined in a nebulous to shadowy way.

Participants: Lilli Baro, Eric Beck, Ivan Djambov, Johannes Heppner, Laura Hörning, Anneliese John, Elias Knochenhauer, Tarek Rishmawi, Tobias Schmidt, Ion Wunderle, Haonan Yin