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It was this morning, Monday, July 28, 2025, around 5 a.m. Thoughts about some of my paintings resurfaced. Sustainability was the central theme. Sustainability is everywhere today. From tomato sauce, French fries, cars to investment-fonts and much more. Everything is there. Well, almost everything.
I first encountered this topic during my studies, around 1975.
It became more intense in the mid-1990s.
I first came into contact with "sustainability" through my work in software and database development.
The German word "sustainability" was hardly known at the time.
I was thus "vaccinated" early on in a sustainable and lasting way.
I can no longer keep up with software development.
That time has long since passed.
But the basic principles of sustainability are still strongly present in my photography and video work.
Human Sustainability
And sustainability in photography?
Is that possible?
In abandoned places?
As Human sustainability?
When I think of human sustainability in photography, I don't simply mean individual static photos that depict humanity. What's needed is a story, a sequence, a narrative, a thought-provoking element, empathy, and also an incentive for viewers to think along and act accordingly.
Here's a series of photographs as an example.
It was taken in old buildings of a mining site in Trélazé, near Angers.
It was once a major enterprise.
Hard men worked there, earning meager wages, but the underground work was all the more dangerous.
Accidents were apparently commonplace.
Women, of course, weren't there.
That would have triggered a revolution among men.
Women could, if at all, only perform office work.
Many years ago, suddenly, nothing worked anymore. The mine was closed. Workers were laid off, losing their income and livelihood.
The buildings and engines are now falling into disrepair.
Machines are rusting, they have become unusable.
That's it.
When will they be scrapped?
Years later, this Urbex site was revitalized – reanimated. Artists quickly took action, and many graffiti works were created. I was able to take some photos there with friends – as a sustainable process without leaving a trace.
One of my photographs shows a young man, no clothes, naked, without any protection.
The contrast to the former time – tough men, hard work,
fully equipped, dangers everywhere – couldn't be greater.
The contrast between man and machine is equally rich in contrast.
When you become aware of these aspects,
you can see sustainable development in this picture.
It shows the transformation of the world of work and our society.
It also ranges from exploitation to freedom.
Trapped in the World of Work
Deus ex Machina literally means:
God from the machine.
Sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn't it?
This refers to an unexpected helper or surprising circumstance,
through which a previously unsolvable problem suddenly becomes solvable.
Inspiration?
A divine helper?
Can this go well?
With the remote control in the operator's hand.
The image is digitally composed of several photographs.
I take my photographs as raw material and use them to create new images.
However, artificial intelligence did not work here, my own intelligence was sufficient.
The Kingdom of Urbex
Le Tolosan, once a luxury hotel complex in Boussens, southern France.
The hotel included an amphitheater, gourmet restaurant, meeting rooms and golf course.
It was built over thirty years ago by the Elf company on a hill and
included several buildings on different levels of the property.
After several ownership takeovers, the hotel's popularity began to wane and customers became increasingly rare. The liquidation was obvious.
After the closure, the hotel changed hands several times before it was abandoned. It was quickly looted and everything that could be sold was stolen. As a result, the hotel deteriorated quickly until a fire broke out.
The photographs I took there hardly give any indication of the former luxury. Only the view remains.
The photographs were taken in the summer of 2024.
A great backdrop for Urbex actions, but not entirely safe.
It is not only suitable for graffiti artists.
The flags are waving in the wind.
Encounters in the wind
Human sustainability can also be seen in completely different types of photography. This is by no means only evident in my pictures. I'm thinking of photos of people in dynamic relationships with one another.
Challenging for photographic activities; significant motion blur is helpful.
A photo performance was created in the summer of 2024 in the South of France. My goal was to capture images of encounters, being together, being with each other, a play in the wind. All in natural and artificial light.
Such shots are almost impossible to achieve outdoors during the day. In the evening, however, they are very possible.
Francois and Gael, my two models, were very committed to this experiment and had a lot of fun. Only the two of them were in front of the camera.
The flags are still blowing in the wind.
