Erding - It shows the fate of the corona pandemic: Photographer Esther Bauer meets people in Erding who are particularly hard hit by the lockdown and the forced closings.
Shops, restaurants, fitness studios, hotels, cultural sites: they are all closed in the corona lockdown.
Behind all the empty rooms and the locked doors are people who worked there and who have experienced massive material losses since the pandemic.
Esther Bauer gives them a face.
She makes the economic and social hardship in retail and culture visible through her photos.
"So much has already been said, discussed and written - that's why I want to let the pictures do the talking now," says the photographer.
Since her divorce eight years ago, the woman from Rosenheim has lived in Erding with her two children.
The 49-year-old has many things going through his head early in the morning.
“I use the time to reflect on the essentials in life,” she says.
Since the lockdown, her primary thoughts have revolved around how to organize the day without assignments.
Or how she can get the next rent and earn a living without income.
Because she is also directly affected by the corona pandemic.
In the meantime, she even had to apply for Hartz IV.
But boredom and gloom would not suit her as the “creative doer” she describes herself as.
Nevertheless, they would have blocked the restrictions for a long time: "As a solo self-employed person, the crisis is shaking you."
Between six and seven in the morning, the photographer had the idea: “I don't want to wait until it's all over and then start hoping for my customers again, I want to start a new project.” Thought and done: “A picture says after all, more than a thousand words.
I capture those faces and the stories behind them with the camera that currently have no lobby. ”This is how“ Image of Man - Visible in the Now ”was born.
This task will keep them in suspense and make them "visible again".
Bauer photographed the employees of the Erding town hall, among others.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the cultural business has had “45,000 fewer visitors”, as the poster says, because events have not been allowed to take place there for a long time.
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Drama in black and white: This makes the crisis in which many companies are stuck due to the corona pandemic even clearer.
The picture shows Jutta Kistner, managing director of the Stadthallen (front with sign) and her team.
Erdings largest cultural site has to cope with 45,000 fewer visitors due to Corona.
© Esther Bauer
Bauer was also able to win over the owners of a watch and jewelery shop in the city center, the booksellers from “Leseglück” and the team from the Kraus fashion house for their project: “All of them have great financial losses, are at the limit of their financial resilience.”
It also gives people a voice.
“I not only take photos, but also make video recordings, which I then put online.” The black and white photos are intended for an exhibition.
“Of course I don't take a fee.” The more people affected take part in the photo shoots, the more meaningful the documentation of this difficult time will be, says Bauer.
Your passion are snapshots.
Since she does not have her own studio, she only photographed women in her own apartment until the pandemic.
“I don't want to let men into my home,” she explains, explaining her preference for “women”.
Self-employed business women, including architects, healers or HR professionals who needed image photos for their Internet presence, are part of their clientele.
Bauer calls these advertising photos “heart business”.
Before the lockdown, many customers had also had her portrayed: “I photograph the women the way they look, the way they are.” Once a woman told her that her psychotherapist had sent her.
Because: "Photos strengthen self-confidence." Bauer's pictures are not processed or optimized with technical help.
It also dispenses with artificial light.
“There is no thunderstorm with me, nor is it posted.” Women don't always have to show themselves in the best possible light, she says.
Bauer calls these photos “soul photography”.
"These are not beautiful photos in the classic sense, but authentic shots with strong emotional memories."
Further information is available on the Internet at www.meine-weibsbilder.de.
MICHAELE HESKE