Fremdungen — group exhibition in Berlin
On October 20, I presented my photographic series URBAN NATURE as part of the group exhibition Fremdungen at GALERIE WEISSER ELEFANT. The exhibition opened at 7 pm and ran until November 17, with visiting hours from Tuesday to Saturday, 1–7 pm, at Auguststraße 21 in Berlin.
The exhibition brought together works by Wolfram Hahn, Andy Rumball, Kai von Rabenau, Rainer Sioda, Hannes Woidich, and myself.
On the idea of Fremdung
The title Fremdungen refers to different experiences of the unfamiliar. In German, the term touches on ideas such as alienation, distance, and estrangement. These concepts shape how we understand belonging and the idea of home.
Curated by Daniel Klemm, the exhibition approached these questions through varied artistic positions. Each contribution reflected a different way of engaging with what feels foreign or displaced within everyday environments.
Urban Nature — Seoul in transition
Within this context, my series Urban Nature focuses on the urbanization of Seoul. South Korea is a highly urbanized country, with around 80 percent of the population living in cities. As a result, the distinction between rural and urban space has become increasingly unclear.
The photographs look at what remains when rural landscapes disappear and new structures take their place. Rather than documenting development itself, the series observes architectural traces and spatial overlap.
Urban Nature received First Prize at the European Prize of Architectural Photography in 2011. Beyond the award, the work reflects a long-term engagement with how cities absorb what once existed at their edges.
Encountering the unfamiliar
Fremdungen brings together different strategies for dealing with the unfamiliar. Across photography and other media, the exhibition asks how identity forms when familiar structures begin to shift.
My contribution fits into this framework by looking at landscapes that no longer belong clearly to one category. These spaces resist definition and reflect a broader sense of displacement that extends beyond geography.
An open invitation
The exhibition at Galerie Weisser Elefant offered space for reflection rather than conclusion. Through Urban Nature, I continue to explore how cities transform and how these changes affect our understanding of place and belonging. Fremdungen provided a shared context in which these questions could be viewed from multiple perspectives.
