The exhibition introduces contemporary German photography through the prism of the photobook, situating these works within a broader dialogue between Germany and Poland. Photography in both countries has developed within interconnected European artistic, political, and social contexts. Common Ground posits that in order to understand one another and the reality that surrounds us, we must confront pivotal questions—concerning identity, memory, landscape, and transformation.
Books cross borders more easily than people, and they have always served as vessels for dialogue and new visual languages. Photobooks hold a unique position in the history of photographic practice as constructed visual narratives, where sequence, rhythm, materiality, and form shape meaning. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the photobook has functioned as one of the most influential mediums for the presentation and circulation of photography—allowing artists to create visual essays, document social reality, and experiment with form in ways fundamentally different from exhibitions or individual prints.
Common Ground treats the book as an artistic object—a meeting point between historical reality and internal experience, where cultural aspects arrange themselves into unexpected patterns, revealing both affinities and differences. The exhibition thus becomes a platform for discussion, collaboration, and engagement with photography as an artistic practice and a form of cultural exchange—at a time when we may need it most.
Curators: Heiner L. Beisert, Jakub Szachnowski, Katarzyna Szachnowska
Opening hours: Daily | 11:00 AM–4:00 PM Free admission
Image: Sascha Weidner: Implode II (2011) © The Estate of Artist Sascha Weidner