Hunting for Strangers
Project information
submitted by
Julia Albrecht
Co-Authors
Charlotte Dick,
Sebastian Günter,
Leia Holtwick,
Emilia Justen,
Kevin Kulke,
Frida Ludwig,
Pia Seufert.
Mentors
Julia Albrecht
Faculty:
Art and Design
Degree programme:
Fine Art (Diploma),
Visual Communication (Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)),
Teaching Qualification (Secondary Education) in Art Education - First or Dual Subject (1st state examination)
Type of project presentation
Exhibition
Semester
Summer semester 2026
- Marienstraße 1b
(Raum 204)
Available during summaery's regular opening hours
attractive to children
Project description
Between people, there is first distance. Every portrait begins with an attempt to bridge it. The works presented here understand portraiture not as the mere depiction of a face, but as an encounter. Visibility is not taken for granted, but understood as something that must be negotiated: between photographer and subject, proximity and unfamiliarity, trust and uncertainty.
Working with both analogue and digital photographic processes, the students approached portraiture as a relationship. The starting point was analogue photography, a slow medium that demands attention, patience, and commitment. Every exposure required a conscious decision before it could become an image.
At the centre of the course was Hunting for Strangers. Students approached people they did not know, initiated conversations, asked for permission, and navigated curiosity, rejection, and the desire for connection. The portrait emerged not only in front of the camera, but in the very moment of approach.
The resulting works move between intimacy and distance, document and interpretation, presence and projection. They explore how relationships are formed through images and what responsibility accompanies the photographic gaze.