Poesie

2010, Artists’ Book, 64 Pages, 14 x 19 cm

In Susanne Huth’s book Poesie, she takes the viewer searching for an East German childhood. Her quest comprises photographs of architectural details of a Magdeburg housing development as well as reproductions of an autograph book of her childhood. The artbook combines romantic childhood memories of leafing through the autograph book with a more detached look at the housing estate. Rather than strictly depict architectural details Huth prefers to use her photographs to reproduce a child's view of life, gazing for instance out of a window, along a stairwell, at letterboxes, over fences, and into corners. The camera revisits the places that have remained stamped in her personal memory, whether it's a gym, the fence surrounding a kindergarten, the journey to school, or the playground clock. The panorama of interaction between architectural space and romantic recollections and dedications evokes a new and poetic album of memories. So while Poesie is a deeply personal and situational document, it easily translates to many other places and locations.