back to the overview I deutschsprachige Version des Textes Racism is the dominant reaction to migration in Western societies. Direct and aggressive racism manifests itself in attacks on people who are not part of the white majority society, up to and including murder. Structural and institutional racism disadvantages people with migration experience, both in terms of access to educational opportunities and generally in terms of their ability to shape their own lives in a self-determined way. Andreas Langfeld addresses these interlocking aspects of racism and migration in his work. Through his chosen form of presentation of his photographs, Langfeld also offers an analysis of the correlations between racism and migration. The photographs hang vertically in two rows, with explanatory texts about the portrayed persons below each one. In this way, Langfeld makes their political struggle comprehensible and gives them a voice. The lower row of photographs is made up of documentary shots that show traces of active resistance against racism in Berlin´s urban space. Many of the protest images which have become engraved in the city´s memory like inscriptions, refer to the right-wing extremist attack in Hanau on 19th February 2020, in which nine citizens of Hanau, who were not considered to be ´white`, were murdered. Using the analogy of the traces of resistance, the photographs are printed on wallpaper material and echo the effect of posters or stickers in public spaces. This visual element is the foundation for the portraits and is reminiscent of the social context in which the photographs of the people were taken. This part of the work is supplemented by the perspectives of people who are not considered to be part of the white majority society. By selecting their own portrait locations and making their experiences and struggles visible, they are the protagonists of Langfeld´s work. For example, Ferat is portrayed by Langfeld in the very same place where he first experienced racial profiling by the police when he was twelve years old. Ferat describes how the experience of not being able to trust public authorities and the resulting feeling that he is not welcome in Germany, has left a deep impression on him. At the same time, he still feels at home in the neighbourhood of Kiez, between Kottbusser Tor and the canal; these are the places of his childhood memories where he likes to spend time whenever he can, even though his family was driven out of this part of Kreuzberg due to the gentrification of the city. In another commentary, the protagonist, dubbed ´Hero`, describes her struggle against racist and sexist structures that are deeply rooted in our society and kept permanently alive through discursive, institutional and visual representations of others. Text: Dr. Silke Förschler Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko Photo: Victoria Tomaschko About Andreas Langfeld Andreas Langfeld studied at the Folkwang University of Arts in Essen, Germany. He works in the range of artistic documentary photography. In 2016 he showed his body of work „Status“ in a solo exhibition at the Museum Ostwall / Dortmund. His work was also shown in several group exhibitions like at the „F/Stop Festival“ for photography in Leipzig, at the „Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie“, in Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Heidelberg and in the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
