Much more so than what exists and is intact, things that are mor­bid and left to them­sel­ves sti­mu­late our inven­tiv­en­ess . The ima­gi­na­tion leads to a crea­tive reconstruc­tion, or rather a retrans­for­ma­tion of what is seen. It is not just the intact loca­tion its­elf and indi­vi­du­als who were once active there, but an ent­ire epoch that pas­ses by the mind’s eye. Par­ti­cu­larly where the sple­ndor of Wil­hel­mi­ni­an­style ball­rooms and thea­ters once exis­ted, cob­webs have taken over the aura of once-modern tech­ni­cal equip­ment or the sacred sphere of eccle­si­as­ti­cal reli­gious zeal. The viewer lives through not only a per­so­nal memento mori, but directly expe­ri­en­ces the con­se­quen­ces of cul­tu­ral change. As with any change, a sense of decline is inherent.
The Burghausen-based pho­to­gra­pher Peter Unter­mai­er­ho­fer (born 1983) has — for several years alre­ady — docu­men­ted such deso­late pla­ces that are only con­side­red by many as “eye­so­res” and soo­ner or later fall vic­tim to new deve­lop­ment. His inter­pre­ta­tion rea­ches even fur­ther: “My pic­tures docu­ment these objects in their beauty and give a view into how the world could look after the disap­pearance of human beings.”
The Gal­lery for Con­tem­porary Pho­to­gra­phy will be pre­sen­ting nine­teen impres­sive works by Peter Unter­mai­er­ho­fer, having been shot wit­hin the last few years in Ger­many, Aus­tria, Bel­gium, France and Italy.