Xiomara Bender

This photographic documentation is the result of numerous journeys into a enigmatic world. Travelling as a photographer through a country, in which imprudently made photos can mean painful repression for the people in front of the camera. Searching for answers in North Korea, where the individual seems to leave no traces and »the people« means everything. Xiomara Bender dares to leave prescribed routes in order to find access to »simple people«. Here, a fleeting smile; there, a curious gaze. Moments, in which the state-imposed isolation appears surmountable, captured in this extraordinary book.
Xiomara Bender (b. 1987) belongs to the avant-garde of young photo artists. Already at the beginning of her career, numerous national and international honors, such as the C/O Berlin Foundation »Close Up!« and the International Photography Award, have acknowledged her distinctive pictorial language. With empathy and respect for the individual, she documents people in everyday situations. Captured as objects, they nevertheless remain subjects.