Artist
Florian Gatzweiler
Räume, die
A prison is a microcosm of power in which the control and discipline of inmates are central aspects. Power relations are established there through surveillance, norms and social hierarchies, resulting in a constant state of violence. This not only creates physical barriers, but also reproduces social orders that reflect the power structures of society. It is striking to note that 94% of the inmates are men.
“Räume, die” was created in collaborative work with the prison inmates. Through dialogues about structural dynamics, we tried to pinpoint male behavior in these structures. We used the personal experiences and feelings of the inmates as a basis to create images and re-enact situations. Our main aim was to highlight situations that often did not receive the attention they needed.
Florian Gatzweiler offers a sensitive exploration of the invisible mechanisms of power and masculinity within the prison system. Created in collaborative dialogue with inmates, his work Räume, die challenges existing structures and opens new perspectives on social hierarchies and violence. With remarkable visual and conceptual clarity, the portrait series makes societal orders visible and fosters critical reflection on masculinity. After graduating from Ostkreuzschule für Fotografie in Berlin in 2024, this opportunity will reinforce Florian in taking the next step in his artistic journey and further develop his practice through the exchange with other experts and artists. (Cale Garrido, Curator 9th Triennial of Photography Hamburg)
Julius Schien’s project Rechtes Land builds a comprehensive documentation of the devastating impact of right-wing violence across Germany. As the work grows, it becomes an urgent index and a mirror of race-based crime across the state, from which we must learn and reflect. His photographs, depicting the ordinary settings where these heinous acts occur, serve as a stark reminder of the disturbingly commonplace nature of murder when fueled by the normalization of racism in the national psyche. If photography has a vital role, it is indeed to make sure we remember all those whose lives are wrecked by intolerance, hatred, and violence. (Mark Sealy, Artistic Director 9th Triennial of Photography Hamburg)
The intimate portraits and landscape shots of Ksenia Ivanova’s series Between the Trees of the South Caucasus convey a sense of time frozen in place – even beyond the moment of capture. Stunningly beautiful and profoundly clear, her pictures are at the same time highly relevant: the series concludes with images of people in Georgia protesting in the streets against the new pro-Russian government. Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the series raises fundamental questions about the future of regions and the consequences for those who live there. It is precisely these parallels that make Ksenia Ivanova’s documentary photography so significant. (Stephanie Bunk, Curator, Freundeskreis des Hauses der Photographie)
In My Fascist Grandpa, Laura Fiorio explores aphasia—the inability to speak about one’s own dark past—particularly in relation to colonial and imperial histories. By intertwining personal archive material with collected images from open calls and projecting them onto monumental heritage sites like Borgo Rizza, she bridges private, untold narratives with institutionalized history. Her work exposes violent pasts, challenges power structures, and brings hidden stories into the public realm. Through collaboration with communities, she fosters knowledge exchange between the powerful and the marginalized, making a vital contribution to contemporary and historical discourse. (Bettina Freimann, Project Director 9th Triennial of Photography Hamburg)
Roxana Rios explores gender identity as a performative act, in which bodily presence and photographic self-representation are shaped in non-conforming and subversive ways. Moving beyond binary roles and refusing objectifying gazes, the portrayed individuals in the ongoing portrait series FIGURE, FORM claim space to shape both themselves and their image on their own terms. Contributing to queer narratives within photographic historiography, the project seeks to reclaim selfhood, the body, and representation as acts of empowerment. The series serves as an invitation and a reference framework, envisioning bodily representations that exist outside societally and algorithmically conditioned visual regimes. (Nadine Isabelle Henrich, Curator House of Photography at Deichtorhallen Hamburg)
Selection committee:
Mark Sealy (Artistic Director 9th Triennial of Photography Hamburg 2026, Director Autograph BP)
Cale Garrido (Curator 9th Triennial of Photography Hamburg 2026)
Bettina Freimann (Project Director 9th Triennial of Photography Hamburg 2026)
Nadine Isabelle Henrich (Curator, House of Photography at Deichtorhallen Hamburg)
Stephanie Bunk (Freundeskreis des Hauses der Photographie Hamburg)
