Grit Schwerdtfeger, ZEHN

ZEHN is a sensitive photographic approach to childhood. At his own request, Grit Schwerdtfeger portrayed her son Lorenz, then ten years old, almost every day for an entire year. This long-term study in a condensed form does not only provide an insight into the development of a child, but also tells about the relationship between son and mother.
It is closeness, but sometimes also distance, which is expressed in Grit Schwerdtfeger’s impressive portraits, while openness for the act of photographing reflects a deeply profound confidence.
At an age when the outward appearance is still androgynous, self conscious moments alternate with juvenile vulnerability. The hands clasped casually in the pockets of the pants or the large fur-hat, serving as protection, stand for the different moods as well as for the development of personal identity. In the portraits, which are not chronologically arranged, the current mood and major changes alike are to be discovered. ZEHN shows how the essence of a person slowly emerges — the approach is personal, the conclusion however much broader.

Grit Schwerdtfeger was born in Anklam, Germany, in 1971 and lives in Leipzig. She is a member of the lux photographers’ collective. From 1990 to 1997 she studied photography at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig under Joachim Brohm, graduating as his master student in 2001. Grit has received numerous scholarships and awards, including a DAAD fellowship to study in Cuba. Her work is included in corporate and private collections in England, France, Austria, Belgium, Germany and Canada.