TITLE: JUGEND IM LOCKDOWN (Youth in Lockdown)

In 2021 I have captured twenty-one young souls between January and April, eager to see how they were holding up, after Germany reinstated its second lockdown on December 16th 2020. Since then schools have once again been shut down, and contact is only allowed by one household plus one single person. In a good and healthy scenario being a teenager, means to be free, including making silly decisions sometimes!
Today, every careless contact, every unthought touch could have a consequence. So what happens to a young person when social life is simply put on hold? When school or university classes are being relocated to a screen in your room? When future plans or dreams get cancelled?
It was important for me to give our children a voice, and to capture a little glimpse of their wellbeing...

e.g:

TYRON, 16: 
»We are sixteen/seventeen, and those are the best years of one’s time as a teenager. I feel that before that you can’t do so much, and afterwards you are already grown up. What I have learned is that time can pass quickly. So you realize that you must treasure time more.«


NEOMI, 16: 
»I am not so happy in everyday life. I no longer have so many emotions. Yet I have learned to organize my time better. In principle I am alone all day, so it’s a kind of self-treatment: To get along better with myself, to be fonder of myself.«

LEONARD, 17: 
»That I cannot hug my grandma really makes me sad. That really hurts when you see that time is passing, and you may not see the person who is so close to you. You must protect her, naturally, therefore you have to keep your distance. That’s hard enough and simply makes me sad.«

AUTHOR: Rebecca Hoppé (Germany)

Born 1976 in Montreal, Canada, Rebecca Hoppé works and lives in Hamburg, Germany.
Her book ‘Ballet' - a photographic project, for which Rebecca Hoppé accompanied choreographer John Neumeier and the dancers of the Hamburg Ballet, front of house and behind the scenes, in both Hamburg and New York, over a period of five years – was published 2010 by EDEL and highly praised by the press. Her large-format b/w photographs consist of abstract studies of the dancers at work and posed portraits, also providing fascinating glimpses of rehearsals and live performances.

She was part of the photographer team of the 'Clublexikon Hamburg' that won the Bronze Nail at the ADC Awards 2012.

2020 Rebecca Hoppé created her first short film "MMXX" which visualises an emotional state of mind in today’s world due to the devastating outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. "MMXX" was officially selected by numerous film festivals around the world.