 | | Image by Vor der Ereimtage |
Being an amateur photographer it’s soul destroying to see what other people have managed to create, often with a camera a fraction of the cost of mine. I know their talent should inspire me, but I hate them. Putting aside my personal vendettas, the current exhibition at the Cornerhouse takes the art of photography to a whole new level – or actually an old one really – as the pictures are from photographers who learned their craft behind the Iron Curtain during a time when there were strict rules about how life in the country could be depicted on film. The results are a series of stunning, amusing and sometimes moving images of how East Germans lived out their lives under Communist rule. Highlights for me include the faces of two couples, a generation apart, looking out from adjoining windows taken by Arno Fischer. Fischer's study of the aging Marlene Dietrich and Sibylle Bergemann's image of two girl dancing in a Berlin park - again showing people at least a generation apart. If you get the chance go and see this exhibition. In fact there's no 'if' about it. Make the chance. Do Not Refreeze: Photography Behind The Berlin Wall is at the Cornerhouse until Sunday 17th June. Admission is free. | 
