Conditions by Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann | en

At the age of 20, photographer Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann left his native Peru and the society he grew up in. Arriving in Berlin, he encountered socio-cultural patterns of behavior that were alien to him. Winkelmann noticed that in Berlin, borders had meanings of their own - they didn’t act as walls, made to prevent people from developing their own personality. On the contrary: It seemed as if people were actually striving to find borders. It was as if being different helped people to evoke their own identity. This is the background of "Conditions".

The book examines what it means to choose one’s own way of life. It portrays people who lead a free and independent life, and who have to learn how to cope with freedom, to find their own unique way. "Conditions" shows pictures of people who long to be socially accepted without having to conform, people who are “on the road”, searching, hoping and doubting.

"Conditions" does not guide the viewer. It does not tell the viewer how it should be read, looked through or perceived. There is no clear starting point, there is no definite order. The viewer is asked to find her own order, to find her own path through "Conditions", resulting in a personal journey... The reader is looking at the reality of Marroquín Winkelmann´s life, she sees places and faces, and she is asked to develop her own attitude towards them.

The images are lyrical compositions that tell us about Winkelmann´s thoughts and personal experiences: they are more than simple reproductions of incidental events.

Adam Bartos served as editor for the book, an essay by Jörg Colberg reflects on what it means for a person to find her own place in a city like Berlin.