As part of the exhibition series “La jeune photographie allemande”, this year, students of the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne are showing photographic-installative works under the title “The End/ Not the End?” that deal with the global dimension and complexity of the ecological crisis. The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation organises the exhibition series annually in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Paris.

The artists, supervised by Prof. Beate Gütschow and Alex Grein, develop poetic narratives of doom in which grief is paired with a will to act. The aim of the art is to make the invisible visible. The exhibition will open at the Goethe-Institut Paris, on 10 November 2022 at 18:30 during the international photography fair PARIS PHOTO. 

The artistic positions of the exhibition “The End / Not the End?” reflect on the progressing destruction of our planet as well as the resulting need for action. They question artificial intelligences about the future of the world, describe the climate crisis as a temporally and spatially delimited hyper object and find new, haptic images for the dying of ecosystems, that are essential to the balance of nature and the planet. Their works address illegal waste disposal as well as the effects of coal mining or the permanent pollution of rivers through water use in large cities in Germany. They also impressively visualise the influence our consumer behaviour has on regions of other continents, be it the hunting of protected animals in Mongolia or the mining of lithium in Argentina. The images produced by the artists are also an emotional wake-up call that a quick reaction to the climate crisis is possible and necessary. 

With the exhibition series “La jeune photographie allemande”, the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation and the Goethe-Institut Paris, have been promoting young photographers at German universities since 2018, showing current trends in photography. Each year, students from a selected university or academy are invited to present their work in an exhibition at the Goethe-Institut Paris. After an exhibition by Martin Liebscher’s photography class at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach (HfG) in 2018 and one by Heidi Specker’s Master’s students at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst (HGB) Leipzig in 2019, Adam Broomberg’s and Oliver Chanarin’s photography class at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Hamburg (HFBK) in 2021.

The participating artists are:
Javkhlan Ariunbold, Victor Beger, Caroline Brünen, Cédric Ernoult and Giorgi Gedevanidze, Alex Simone Klug and Kristina Lenz, Clara Kulemeyer, Soojins Ok, Ivana Pavlíčková.

Notes for the editors:
The press tour for the exhibition “The End / Not the End?” takes place on 10 November 2022, at 17:00, at the Goethe-Institut Paris, 17 Av. D‘Iéna, 75016 Paris, France. It will be followed by the opening of the exhibition at 18:30 in the presence of the artists.

Please find an overview of the press images for the exhibition“The End / Not the End?” here. We will be happy to send you press images in print quality on request.

Information for visitors: 

The exhibition will be open for visitors at the Goethe-Institut Paris until 4 January 2023. For more information, please visit the website. 
Address: Goethe-Institut Paris, 17 Av. d'Iéna, 75016 Paris, France

The institutions of the series “La jeune photographie allemande”:

The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in Frankfurt/ Main that is dedicated to collecting, exhibiting and promoting contemporary photography. It is responsible for the further development and presentation of the Art Collection Deutsche Börse, which now comprises over 2,200 photographic works by around 150 artists from 32 nations. In its exhibition space in Eschborn near Frankfurt/Main, it shows several exhibitions a year that are open to the public. Supporting young artists is a particular concern of the foundation. It promotes them in many ways: with awards, scholarships or through participation in the Talent programme of the Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam Foam. Together with the Photographers' Gallery in London, it awards the renowned Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize every year. Furthermore, the foundation supports exhibition projects of international museums and institutions as well as the development of platforms for academic dialogue and research on the medium of photography. You can find more information at www.deutscheboersephotographyfoundation.org

The Goethe-Institut Paris, focuses on the presentation of photographic positions from Germany. The aim is to offer a first platform to German artists or artists living in Germany who are usually still little known in France. The aim is to connect German and French artists, partner institutions and galleries. In particular, the Institute focuses on expanding the medium of photography and demonstrating innovative, experimental, and process-oriented approaches. In addition to classical photographic works, exhibitions show video works, sculptures, and installations. www.goethe.de

The Academy of Media Arts in Cologne (KHM) is firmly and successfully part of the canon of German art and film academies, remaining true to and unique in its project-oriented approach (no master classes, cross-disciplinary supervision by professors, diploma degree in undergraduate and postgraduate studies), which produces individualistic "cross-over talents" between art, media, film and science. www.khm.de