Activists of the movement "Ende Gelände" block railway tracks to the site of the "ChemCoast Park" to protest against the construction of a planned ship terminal for fracked gas in the port of Brunsbüttel

Football fans follow the World Cup eighth-final Germany - England in the Hanover beer garden "Nordkurve".

The "Walhalla" by night.

A group of Christians is on pilgrimage from Gorleben to Garzweiler under the motto "Way of the Cross for Creation".

AFD top candidate Tino Chrupalla, surrounded by supporters after an election campaign event.

In 1842, Bavarian King Ludwig I had built the Memorial “Walhalla” to honour deceased German-speaking personalities with marble busts. Nowadays, in addition to ordinary day-trippers, the memorial is frequently visited by neo-Nazis.

Alin, Benjamin, Attila, Flavius, Surin, Margatha and Manu from Romania are working in a field late at night, planting strawberries for the second half of the season.

Musician Peaches performs a show on the closed Raschplatzhochstraße.

Morning conference of Deutsche Bank's Communications Department on the 27th floor of the Group's headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.

Bathers enjoy the summer on the Gries on the Prater Island of the Isar in Munich's city center.

A farm labourer of Romanian origin works at night in a field in southern Germany.

The top duo of the AFD, Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel pose for a portrait during an election campaign event. Bodyguards, as well as assistants of the politicians, wait on the right.

Wealthy members of an international charity organisation celebrate a summer party in Freiburg.

Siebrecht and Arvid from the Netherlands visit the Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin.

A newly built single-family house in Thuringia.

Nike works at a mobile Covid testing station in Tübingen, which is one of the few municipalities in Germany that pursue an independent strategy in the fight against the Corona pandemic.

Reactivation of a Boeing 747-8 that was parked during the lockdowns. Cabin mechanic Bülent Y. fixes the headrests in business class.

CDU supporters listen to an speech by Armin Laschet in in Braunschweig.

Politicians after a campaign performance by Olaf Scholz in an empty swimming pool in Wolfsburg five days before the election.

Peter M. (pink shirt) has traveled from Copenhagen for the "Jewish Week" to visit the grave of his ancestor "Esther Adelski" at the Jewish cemetery in Leipzig. At the grave, Rabbi Esther Jonas-Märtin holds a ceremony. Peter's family lives in Denmark and Israel.

Aircraft mechanics Klaus, Josef, and Bernd check the engine of a Boeing 747-8 that was parked during lockdowns and the reduced air traffic.

In Horb am Neckar, a young family gets advice on buying a new car.

Flood in western Germany: In the city center of Hagen, Radu has been helping with the clean-up work since 11 o'clock in the morning.

A couple from Hagen inspects their car, which was damaged by the flood. Since they do not have comprehensive insurance, they have to pay for all the damage to their car themselves.

Residents of Dahl, south of Hagen, clean up after the Volme River overflowed its banks due to the opening of the barrages as part of the flood disaster.

Young members of the SPD celebrate at the party's election party.

Friends Steff, Phil, and Lutz are sitting on the walls of the Valhalla near Regensburg and enjoying the good weather. Although they meet here regularly, they have never seen "Walhalla" from the inside.

At the CSU summer party in Kehlheim, Uli Nierer entertains party supporters with music.

Police use search dogs to search for bodies on the previously flooded B265 near Erlfstadt-Blessem.

Employees of a metalworking company in southern Germany are preparing a trip to Ahrweiler during their company holidays to support a befriended blacksmith with the clean-up work after the flood disaster.

Deutsche Bank's deputy group spokesperson in Frankfurt works in her office at the group's headquarters.

On election day, the first projection of the distribution of votes is publicly announced. Supporters of the SPD rejoice.

Cem Özdemir and Marcel Emmerich visit a cave in Baden-Württemberg.

„Does this seem like a desert to you?“
Election campaigning meets reality

A collaborative essay by Volker Crone & Rafael Heygster 

„Does this seem like a desert to you?“ tries to examine the mood of society in Germany prior to the federal election. In the midst of a climate crisis, a global pandemic, and neoliberal turbo-capitalism, after the hard phase of the lockdowns and before the election of the new Government, we took a distant look at the social performances of different people of the society in Germany.
Is there still something like a national identity? And if so, can a society be in a specific mood? Or is any collective identity a mere construction that is actually made up of a vast number of different realities that take place simultaneously but hardly overlap?
We all are basically striving for similar things: personal success, a meaningful life, and a better future. But the idea of how to achieve these values is where we differ. All the individuals photographed have one thing in common: they act according to learned patterns of performative behavior, but circumstances have changed in such a way that they might question the adequacy of these social patterns. Our pictures intend to encourage the viewers to ask themselves: How do we want to live together as a society? Can climate protection and a society based on equality work together with capitalism? What do we want for the next generations and the future of this planet?

Activists of the movement "Ende Gelände" block railway tracks to the site of the "ChemCoast Park" to protest against the construction of a planned ship terminal for fracked gas in the port of Brunsbüttel

Football fans follow the World Cup eighth-final Germany - England in the Hanover beer garden "Nordkurve".

The "Walhalla" by night.

A group of Christians is on pilgrimage from Gorleben to Garzweiler under the motto "Way of the Cross for Creation".

AFD top candidate Tino Chrupalla, surrounded by supporters after an election campaign event.

In 1842, Bavarian King Ludwig I had built the Memorial “Walhalla” to honour deceased German-speaking personalities with marble busts. Nowadays, in addition to ordinary day-trippers, the memorial is frequently visited by neo-Nazis.

Alin, Benjamin, Attila, Flavius, Surin, Margatha and Manu from Romania are working in a field late at night, planting strawberries for the second half of the season.

Musician Peaches performs a show on the closed Raschplatzhochstraße.

Morning conference of Deutsche Bank's Communications Department on the 27th floor of the Group's headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.

Bathers enjoy the summer on the Gries on the Prater Island of the Isar in Munich's city center.

A farm labourer of Romanian origin works at night in a field in southern Germany.

The top duo of the AFD, Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel pose for a portrait during an election campaign event. Bodyguards, as well as assistants of the politicians, wait on the right.

Wealthy members of an international charity organisation celebrate a summer party in Freiburg.

Siebrecht and Arvid from the Netherlands visit the Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin.

A newly built single-family house in Thuringia.

Nike works at a mobile Covid testing station in Tübingen, which is one of the few municipalities in Germany that pursue an independent strategy in the fight against the Corona pandemic.

Reactivation of a Boeing 747-8 that was parked during the lockdowns. Cabin mechanic Bülent Y. fixes the headrests in business class.

CDU supporters listen to an speech by Armin Laschet in in Braunschweig.

Politicians after a campaign performance by Olaf Scholz in an empty swimming pool in Wolfsburg five days before the election.

Peter M. (pink shirt) has traveled from Copenhagen for the "Jewish Week" to visit the grave of his ancestor "Esther Adelski" at the Jewish cemetery in Leipzig. At the grave, Rabbi Esther Jonas-Märtin holds a ceremony. Peter's family lives in Denmark and Israel.

Aircraft mechanics Klaus, Josef, and Bernd check the engine of a Boeing 747-8 that was parked during lockdowns and the reduced air traffic.

In Horb am Neckar, a young family gets advice on buying a new car.

Flood in western Germany: In the city center of Hagen, Radu has been helping with the clean-up work since 11 o'clock in the morning.

A couple from Hagen inspects their car, which was damaged by the flood. Since they do not have comprehensive insurance, they have to pay for all the damage to their car themselves.

Residents of Dahl, south of Hagen, clean up after the Volme River overflowed its banks due to the opening of the barrages as part of the flood disaster.

Young members of the SPD celebrate at the party's election party.

Friends Steff, Phil, and Lutz are sitting on the walls of the Valhalla near Regensburg and enjoying the good weather. Although they meet here regularly, they have never seen "Walhalla" from the inside.

At the CSU summer party in Kehlheim, Uli Nierer entertains party supporters with music.

Police use search dogs to search for bodies on the previously flooded B265 near Erlfstadt-Blessem.

Employees of a metalworking company in southern Germany are preparing a trip to Ahrweiler during their company holidays to support a befriended blacksmith with the clean-up work after the flood disaster.

Deutsche Bank's deputy group spokesperson in Frankfurt works in her office at the group's headquarters.

On election day, the first projection of the distribution of votes is publicly announced. Supporters of the SPD rejoice.

Cem Özdemir and Marcel Emmerich visit a cave in Baden-Württemberg.

„Does this seem like a desert to you?“
Election campaigning meets reality

A collaborative essay by Volker Crone & Rafael Heygster 

„Does this seem like a desert to you?“ tries to examine the mood of society in Germany prior to the federal election. In the midst of a climate crisis, a global pandemic, and neoliberal turbo-capitalism, after the hard phase of the lockdowns and before the election of the new Government, we took a distant look at the social performances of different people of the society in Germany.
Is there still something like a national identity? And if so, can a society be in a specific mood? Or is any collective identity a mere construction that is actually made up of a vast number of different realities that take place simultaneously but hardly overlap?
We all are basically striving for similar things: personal success, a meaningful life, and a better future. But the idea of how to achieve these values is where we differ. All the individuals photographed have one thing in common: they act according to learned patterns of performative behavior, but circumstances have changed in such a way that they might question the adequacy of these social patterns. Our pictures intend to encourage the viewers to ask themselves: How do we want to live together as a society? Can climate protection and a society based on equality work together with capitalism? What do we want for the next generations and the future of this planet?

Volker Crone
Volker Crone