Nachklang exhibition at the aff, Berlin on May 7th

Please join me for the opening of my exhibition „Nachklang - Georgia one year after the war“ at the aff - atelier freier fotografen - Kochhannstrasse 14, Berlin - Friedrichshain on May 7th from 20:00.

Georgian Ambassador Gabriele von Habsburg will deliver an address and there will be live Georgian music by Giorgi Kiknavelidze.

Hope to see you there!

QII: Why did nobody see this coming?

Non Sequitur?

Promise and Struggle

Promise

You promised eden,
lush, abundant, full of trees -
Alas you love her.


Struggle

I struggle to say
words stronger than heartfelt love -
I can but repeat.


[Excerpt from the series „Collected Haikus“ by Roman Beljajev/Роман Беляев; Copyright © 1942 Роман Беляев]

Is it me falling apart, or you, or was this the sound of the universe?

From the opening night of our Group Exhibition "Holgagrafie 2010"

Auferstehung

Auferstehung

Manchmal stehen wir auf
Stehen wir zur Auferstehung auf
Mitten am Tage
Mit unserem lebendigen Haar
Mit unserer atmenden Haut.
 
Nur das Gewohnte ist um uns.
Keine Fata Morgana von Palmen
Mit weidenden Löwen
Und sanften Wölfen.
 
Die Weckeruhren hören nicht auf zu ticken
Ihre Leuchtzeiger löschen nicht aus.
Und dennoch leicht
Und dennoch unverwundbar
Geordnet in geheimnisvolle Ordnung
Vorweggenommen in ein Haus aus Licht.
 
Marie Luise Kaschnitz (1962)

Holgagrafie 2010

Please come to the opening of our group show on Friday April, 2nd from 19:00 at the aff gallery in Berlin, Kochhannstrasse 14...

For more information, please visit: http://www.aff-berlin.com

Dubai (16): Paying Homage to Diane Arbus

Dubai (15): Interlude IV

Dubai (14): Pink Slip Dubai

On Tuesday night I went to the Pink Slip Dubai, a fairly recent addition to Dubai‘s scene. I knew the term from other cities but was a bit surprised to see this emerge in erstwhile boomtown. Pink Slip events are networking events for job seekers and is meant to bring employers in contact with potential employees. I went there to get a feel for the job market in Dubai as a proxy for the state of the whole economy.

Not surprisingly the slowdown in the economy was visible in the job market as well. The average job seeker at this event was probably out of a job for 8 - 9 months, sectors such as (hard hit) real estate and banking were still very slow and jobs hard to get whereas engineering, oil and gas and construction were picking up. One consultant who helps people set up companies told me that in 2007/2008 they were helping to set up 3 -4 companies per day... in 2009 this figure plummeted to zero, rebounding to about 1 per week currently. As one of the participants said: ,...there is improvement in the economy and job market but no momentum behind...“.

Interestingly, it seems that Abu Dhabi manages to poach employees from Dubai... or as one other participant put it succinctly: „... Dubai‘s pain is Abu Dhabi‘s gain...“.