Photographer Wolfram Hahn photographs people in Berlin's shopping malls. He captures what these places also represent: encounters and contrasts.

One of the many people Wolfram Hahn met in shopping malls Photo: Wolfram Hahn

wochentaz: Mr. Hahn, for your photographic work “Center” you photographed people in shopping centers in Berlin. Why there?

Wolfram Hahn: I see shopping centers as meeting places. Where people gather who otherwise wouldn't gather, because everyone has to go shopping at some point. And since in many places shopping centers have taken over the infrastructure of entire shopping streets, they are difficult to avoid. In some cases there are even medical offices in these centers. Only these places are not public, but privatized. There he is not allowed to express himself politically or culturally as he does in public spaces. For me that was also a reason to go there and do exactly that: cultural work.

What was it like talking to people in a mall like that?

Most people have a plan for what they want to buy and execute it relatively quickly. It's easier with people who stay there. They are usually young people or retirees who also use the place as a meeting place. And many homeless people spend the day there until the emergency shelter opens again. People are usually surprised that someone wants to take their photo. “Because I?” I then explained how I was trying to repurpose the mall through artwork. Many people found it interesting.

I often hear from photographers who work in public spaces say that most people don't want to be photographed anymore. What experiences have you had?

For every five or ten people I talk to, about one will have their photo taken. It always depends on who is in front of you. Young people are often a little afraid that their photographs will end up in the wrong hands or channels. I can understand that. I always try to make what happens with the images immediately transparent and convey the concept of my work in a brief and understandable way. In addition to the written consent I obtain, I also send the person the portrait via email. Of course, you can withdraw your consent at any time.

Those people that you meet in the centers every day and who stay there for a long time, is that normal in a shopping center?

I think so. Maybe it depends a little on where the center is. If it's in an infrastructure desert, then people are more likely to spend time there because they can get a coffee there, like in a coffee shop. This is the idea of ​​market inherent to the centers. Let people meet there regularly, let the neighborhood meet there. I like to take photos of people whenever they leave me. This is my moment of encounter.

The place itself, that is, the center, is not really visible in your photographic work. They usually chose a cutout of the upper body with a blurred background. Because?

I use a tripod, which is supposed to have a slowing effect. I want to get people out of the flow of consumption, so to speak. I work with the light that is there because I don't want to alienate the place with a flash, that is, an artificially placed light. I would like to capture in the image the atmosphere of the center, created by the numerous lights and reflective materials. The individual location is in principle interchangeable. Reproducing it would be advertising.

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How do you perceive the environment?

Everything is bright and shiny and demands attention. I find it really exciting how these lights reflect on faces and bodies. Because it creates a contrast between the person who is no longer a consumer at the time of photography and this luminous atmosphere that demands attention, which constantly calls the person to consume. That's why I also focus on people and not space.