Holger Herschel
Home Decor: East Germany, 1992
Exhibition : 15 – 17 June 2023
Levels Gallery Berlin
Opening hours:: Thu/Fri/Sat/ – 16:00-20:00
(or by arrangement)
Opening Reception:
Thursday, June 15th, 18:00 – 21:00
The artist will be present throughout!
A Gazebo on the Baltic Sea, a workers’ apartment in Chemnitz, an actor’s place in Berlin, ...
Different people opened the doors to their private spaces and allowed Holger Herschel to take pictures of their kitchen, living room or even bedroom.
This series was commissioned in 1992 for a sociological study about home decor in East Germany. Thirty years later, not only do they give insights into different living environments, but also let us take a look back at times long past.
Holger Herschel’s pictures were made in a country in transition. The places had been furnished and decorated long before 1989, but in the interim, they had definitely integrated the new consumption culture. Items from two different systems mingled, thus introducing a different living culture.
Curator’s statement:
Holger Herschel is known for his documentary photographic work through many series and books published over the past years. He is a keen observer of the changes which have occurred in former Eastern Germany, changes visible in many different ways and at many different levels. It is interesting to follow his eye through the pictures taken 30 years ago and to discover the living conditions of ordinary people, which Herschel documented in a very sensitive way.