Coexist is the poetic work of a world traveler. For over twelve years, the internationally awarded film director and photographic artist Franziska Stünkel has traveled the world with her Leica camera in search of natural reflections on shop window glass. The artist's attentive gaze captures a moment in reflection and mirroring. This usually does not arise spontaneously, but Franziska Stünkel travels through countries, explores cities for days to find such places of a suitable reflection. The result is not only a beautiful complex aesthetic but she is interested in depicting the coexistence of people in their own living spaces.

Getting to know new cultures, experiences and also burdens are the driving force for Franziska Stünkel to develop her project Coexist. Alethea & Art Magazine received an interview on the occasion of the exhibition at Leica Galerie Düsseldorf, curated by Ulla Born.

March 12, 2022

Interview Directory 

ART

Name: Franziska Stünkel

Occupation: Film director, screenwriter and photographic artist

Worth seeing: The Last Execution, a historical drama, directed by Franziska Stünkel with Lars Eidinger.

"The series title Coexistence, or Coexist in English, is a global idea, as people, no matter where they are, are all in contact with each other."

Can you tell me the essence of your message of Coexist? How did it start that you became involved with the concept of coexistence and how did you come to this project?

I photographed my first reflection over twelve years ago in 2009 in Shanghai. The first image in the book shows this moment. I was photographing on a glass window of a restaurant and I saw what was happening inside the restaurant and I noticed the reflections of the furniture on the glass. I was fascinated and felt that in this situation everything came together, touched and overlapped. The reflection created completely new references, not only in terms of color or shapes, but also in terms of content. This was the moment when I decided to continue working with the reflections. For me, the core of this work is the condensation, the coexistence of nature and architecture, of man to man, of forms to colors all together in coexistence.

The series title Coexistence, or Coexist in English, is a global idea, as people, no matter where they are, are all in contact with each other. I knew it wouldn't feel right to photograph in just one geographic space. Coexist became a long term project where every 2 years I would selectively venture into a new geographic space. The project started in Asia, then Africa, Europe, the Mediterranean, and the last cycle, the US. Each project lasts between 1 and 2 years and I publish a new part of Coexist every 2 years. 

Do you show yourself in your pictures?

I am never seen in my photos except for one, when I deliberately wanted to be seen in the reflection.  It was never meant to be a photo series about my travels or my touch with other spaces or people. The photographs should not be about me as a person. That would make the theme of coexistence much too narrow for me. I want to be an observer of what is happening, who passes on her images to the viewer.

"I had discovered a work that was a positive provocation to look back into reality and look for in it what amazes you."

Do you see your work as a documentation of the historical and political events of the past 12 years?

It's street art photography, because I move around in public space and see the glass panes there. That's why it's also always a documentation of the reality of the country, its people on the street, and in that sense documentary photography. Coexist seems very artificial to surreal or abstract because of the reflections of the condensation. Of course, each image is an intervention in reality, but I deliberately seek abstraction in this reality; the angle and the size of the image can vary. I don't use photoshop and leave the image and reflection exactly as I saw them.

I realized that there is abstraction and elevation in reality as well and you don't have to artificially create it on a computer. I had discovered a work that was a positive provocation to look back into reality and look for in it what amazes you.

"The diversity, as well as our commonalities that underlie us as human beings, fascinate me very much."

Do you travel alone and how do you manage on your many trips? What are your experiences like and do you also learn new things during your projects?

I prefer to travel alone, also as a woman, because this way I have a better perception and higher intensity. I then travel in public spaces with different political and social contexts. Of course there are risks and challenges but the experience of new things always outweighs them for me. I would describe it as my engine in life. But you don't always have to travel, you can also experience new things within yourself. 

When I travel, I experience an infinite variety. The diversity, as well as our commonalities that underlie us as human beings, fascinate me very much. When one exposes oneself alone to places and people while traveling and takes time to perceive them, there is a particularly great intensity in the experiences. I am concerned with our togetherness in all its beauty, but also with the responsibility, the challenges that have to be solved. It is about the fact that peaceful coexistence is possible.

Franziska Stünkel Coexist ©Franziska Stünkel

Franziska Stünkel Coexist ©Franziska Stünkel