TITLE: Homeland - Landscape of memories

Three years ago I started this continuous photo series. I came back to the landscape of my childhood. Also to look for traces in the topography of my family. There, in this landscape, the paths of my father and my mother crossed after the end of the Second World War. My grandfather and father built a farm there. Today only one cousin lives on the farm. The region is still sparsely populated, life there traditional. Only agriculture is now industrial.
Over the course of 250 years, man has formed a cultural space out of the wild river and marsh landscape along the Oder (Border river between Germany and Poland). Nothing is original anymore, even the biotopes of the Oderbruch are designed space. Between the fields, the river makes its way through the plain. He carries my family history with him. Calm and dark, it flows full of memories of itself and the people on its banks. Even at night, the sky is reflected in him. Dark shallows remain hidden.
I photographed this series exclusively analog in 6x6 format. To photograph this landscape with a digital camera would be an anachronism. Analog photography is a spiritual experience for me. Perfect for slowly telling those stories.

AUTHOR: Michael Anker (Germany)

The German photo artist Michael Anker completed his graphic design studies in 1982 with a diploma. In 1987 he was admitted to the Association of Visual Artists (VBK-DDR). Since then he has been working as a freelance graphic designer and photo artist. In 1993 he founded a studio for graphic design in Berlin. For more information, see: https://www.ankerphoto.de/info.

Participation in exhibitions: 2024 Tokyo International Photo Awards – Second Place in the Analogue Category, Gold in Analogue / Film Editorial / Journalism for “The Dark Silence”, Solo Exhibition – The Dark Current, Prix de la Photographie, Paris PX3 – (HM), 2023: 20th IPA International Photography Awards – 3rd prize in the “Analog” category, Tokyo International Photo Awards – (HM) & Jury Top 5 Selection, Monovisions Photo Awards, – (HM)
2022: Brandenburg Art Award, Kunst-Loose-Tage 2022-2018 2021: 1st Prize of the Hoepfner Foundation Karlsruhe "Proximity and Distance", Vienna International Photo Award - Honorable Mention, International Photography Awards - Honorable Mention, ND award - Honorable Mention 2020: Brandenburg Art Award, Tokyo International Foto Awards - Honorable Mention, Monochrom Photograhy Awards - Honorable Mention