»IMAGINE« examines the issue of statelessness. In collaboration with the German non-profit organization »Statefree«, Florian Schwarz was able to get in touch with a number of individuals who have no officially recognized nationality. He photographed them and spoke with them about their daily lives and experiences with statelessness. The result is an extraordinary symbiosis between image and text, art and society. With unparalleled insight into the lives and worlds of the stateless, the project highlights a multifaceted issue often ignored in public discourse. At its core, however, it addresses fundamental questions about integration and human rights, the quest and longing for a life lived in dignity and self-determination.
»IMAGINE« was presented for the first time in the summer of 2022 as a site-specific installation located at a border station on the national border of Germany and Switzerland – consisting of 15 aluminum-panels (220 x 125 cm each) with photographs printed on both sides, combined with 15 acrylic glass-panels (205 x 125 cm each) showing related text-works.
