The discovery and invention of the fire 1/2

 

 

When I first met him at the restaurant, he spoke about four years. He only wanted to work here for four years. Five years have now passed, and his remaining time has not shortened. Then it should be four years again. In the meantime, nothing has changed except that I will leave here.

 

Fifteen years ago, he came to Germany as a refugee and has so far regularly sent two-thirds of his earned money home to his family. At the same time he is still here, in exactly the same place.

 

As I worked with him, the steady rattling of the cashier's printer became an everyday pattern in me. The names of the ordered dishes are listed and a receipt is printed out. Even at peak, this sound was heard all the time. After such a day, it followed me until late into the night. Its monotony made me think of a numb infinity.

 

I took out my camera and started filming him while working. The camera did not seem to bother him. Once he came to work with black-dyed hair, decent clothes and something excited. I didn’t take photos of his dressed up appearance that day. This fact seemed to oppress him a bit, though he said nothing.

 

Without wanting to, I gave his everyday life some color.

 

I will leave here soon. As I move on, I will meet other settled people and document the meetings with them.

 

We were colleagues. Now one goes and one stays.

 

 

The procedure

During the exhibition, some visitors will be asked for short interviews. They are sitting in front of a blue screen. This setting helps clear the time and space information.

After the exhibition, I drive to the end of Asia (Korea or Japan) and continue to work on this photo project. Finally, I will sort the results of the journey and show them in The discovery and invention of the fire 2/2.