Fotoausstellung - State of Exception (2016-2026)

In the organizer's words:

In moments of a state of emergency, existing orders are shaken. In these situations, power becomes visible: it manifests itself in rituals, actions and events that assert authority, create affiliation and shape perceptions of reality.
Rafael Heygster has been photographing such moments for more than ten years. He observes locations where power is staged, where claims to legitimacy are expressed or questioned: Arms fairs where war is marketed as a consumable experience. A society in a state of emergency caused by the pandemic, groping for new orders. Election rallies of a growing right-wing that articulates its claim to power in choreographed self-presentation.
State of Exception brings together excerpts from three long-term projects:
I Died 22 Times (2016-2025), Corona Rhapsody (2020-2022) and Democracy Dies in Daylight (2023-2026). As different as their settings are, they share a common question: How does power become visible in the 21st century - and what do these images do to us?
Heygster's documentary images are not intended to provide simple answers to complex questions. Rather, they invite viewers to reflect on their own position on the subject.
The exhibition is supported by the program funding of the Ministry of Culture and Media.

Biography:
Rafael Heygster (*1990) is a freelance photojournalist. His projects deal with the relationship between individuals and their political, social and cultural environment from a humanistic perspective.
He studied Cultural Anthropology & Political Science in Hamburg and Photojournalism & Documentary Photography in Hanover and Aarhus.
Heygster's work has been exhibited internationally and won numerous awards, including a World Press Photo Award

Price information:

Admission Free