A Stranger in One’s Own Land

Jonnek Jonneksson, Kai Löffelbein

Strangeness and familiarity, home and foreign lands: Fremd im eigenen Land (A Stranger in One’s Own Land) brings together two photographers who find a unifying element in their apparent contrast. The Greek documentary photographer Jonnek Jonneksson, who emigrated to Germany, observes his home from the outside, a home made unfamiliar by the financial crisis. His gaze focuses on the everyday life of Greeks, which has been disrupted by the crisis and is marked by homelessness and poverty. The German photojournalist Kai Löffelbein takes a look at the life of Muslim immigrants in Germany. He impartially portrays an everyday life that seems relatively familiar to the viewer as that of a neighbour, but is ultimately foreign. The camera facilitates personal access to the two worlds, which media treatments have reduced to abstract constructs. Presentations and discussions on political and photographic aspects of the works accompany the exhibition.