Wolfram Hahn

Center, 2023—24
Wolfram Hahn examines how shopping centers function as modern meeting places and how their regulated consumer environments can be photographically represented and alienated. He photographs conversions and appropriation of the centers as well as portraits of visitors in order to capture the atmosphere and materiality of the architecture. The aim is to transform the anonymous consumption places into subjective resonance spaces and to emphasize people's individuality. Hahn questions whether shopping centers can become places of social exchange and participation, similar to historical marketplaces.

In the work, Hahn uses a digital 35mm camera and a tripod. These means enable him to step away from the hectic flow of movement in the shopping centers and create a decelerated, concentrated portrait situation. The focus is on the people portrayed and the atmosphere created by the materiality of the architecture. The sometimes hectic flickering and lighting as well as the bright colors and reflective materials characterize the photographs and create a tension between the dominant design of the centers and the individual representation of the people portrayed. The architecture, which was originally intended to draw visitors' attention to consumption, is used in the photographs as a frame to consciously interrupt the flow of consumption and portray those depicted as individuals.

Article/Review
• Erik Irmer: Raus aus dem Konsumfluss. In: wochentaz, April 6, 2024.