Please introduce yourself: What is your name, where are you from, what do you do?
Hi, I’m Alexandre. I was born in Kisangani, a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but was raised in a small town in the Northwestern part of Germany (NRW). I currently live in Berlin’s wonderfully vibrant district of Schöneberg. Besides taking care of allcitiesarebeautiful.com I’m also currently studying European Media Studies at the University of Potsdam and am working as the photography editor at Desired Landscapes magazine.
What is your relationship with photography, and how did you get into it?
Well, photography has been an integral part of my life ever since I was a young boy. My father was a big photography enthusiast in his early years and had a few cameras laying around at home which I would then pick up and carry with me whenever I went out skateboarding with my friends.
Over the years I grew accustomed to having a camera with me all the time allowing me snap memories of my youth. At some point however, I started roaming around on foot and exploring my neighborhood and more distant places; I began lending out books on photography in our local library (years later I started using the internet to look up photographers), and developed a vast interest in photography in a much broader sense, i.e. the technical aspects: types of cameras, lighting, composition, colors, etc., and the more creative aspects. All the while I went out shooting almost every day for years on end.
It never really occurred to me to ask myself why photography?! I just stuck with it until today. To be honest, I don’t have an answer to the question á la it allows me to express myself creatively or any other platitude. Also, I tend to not overcomplicate certain things. So, to put it more briefly, in my eyes, photography is just fun, and pain, and excitement, and hardship, and thrill, and everything in between; photography is the only thing that has stuck with me for more than twenty years and will, with a high probability, continue to do so.
What do you think triggers you to photograph in a certain moment? Is it planned or solely driven by intuition?
In my case, I’d say it’s solely driven by intuition. I’ve tried to plan ahead several times already but it always ended up in either chaos or unfinished business due to my lack of discipline. However, my most recent series «Neighborhood Typologies», for which I solely photographed house entrances, front yards and their vegetation during one of the early Covid «lockdowns» and which started out as a spontaneous project, quickly developed into a completely planned one.
I knew exactly what I wanted to shoot and how—I developed a framework, a modus operandi if you will—and went out and shot it. In that case my initial photograph was purely intuitive and the rest was planned.
What is the story you want your pictures to tell?
I’m interested in conveying a sense of the complexity of the world we’re living in and want to simplify it in a way that allows the viewer not to feel overwhelmed by it (if that makes sense). For example, in my (already mentioned) series «Neighborhood Typologies», I chose to focus on a specific set of markers that indicate a specific thing, out of an indefinite set of markers that all indicate an indefinite set of things—I aimed at reducing the complexity of my surrounding to tell the story, in that particular case, of my neighborhood (in a small sense) and about our society (in a much broader sense).
Which city would you like to visit the most, and why?
Well, I’ve been to Tokyo already. So, that’s a check. Next on my list would be the city of Algiers, I guess. I don’t have a specific connection to that particular city. Ever since I went to Morocco, I’m intrigued by the idea of visiting more places in Northern Africa, Algiers in particular.
What is your personal relationship to cities, and how do you perceive them as places in general?
I once wrote a text I might publish at some point in time. I’d like to quote it: «For those who dare, the city can turn into a dream fulfilled—as they see it as something inspiring, emotional and surprising — providing them with nearly endless possibilities to develop and express themselves, allowing them to live a prosperous life; for those who dare, life in the city can be a very liberating experience.
For those who don’t, the city could turn into their worst nightmare of ferroconcrete and glass, easily overwhelming them in a cold and rational manner, only to leave them behind in a disturbingly claustrophobic and anxious state. […] The city itself is never really threatening but merely a mirror of yourself, a reflection of your soul if you will […].»
What is the driving force behind creation?
What about, the desire to change the world? Even if it’s just that tiny little part of «world» oneself is living in? The wish, and sometimes urge, to make it a slightly more beautiful, kind, and/or more habitable place? This applies to the material outside world as well as the immaterial inside of oneself.
Which project did you never finish?
Far too many for them to be listed here.
What is that «one thing» you have never managed to photograph and is now gone for good?
My grandparents’ house, in which I spent so many years of my childhood in. After my grandpa died, my grandma decided to sell it off and to move to a much smaller space. In a way, that decision really broke my heart because it was then I realized, I would never be able to spend time in that house again, or in its beautiful and vast garden; I would never be able to lay under that huge apple tree during hot summers, enjoying its shades. After that decision was made, I still managed to snap a couple of photographs but, yeah.. it still makes me sad to this day.
If you could travel back/forth in time, what advice would you give your younger/older self?
Reevaluate what you think is important to you and why, and then reevaluate again.
What do you prefer saying: «to take a photograph» or to «make a photograph», and why?
To quote the photographer Chris Dorley Brown, who’s interview is also on this website: «I say take without thinking, I say make if I think.»
What is the most interesting experience you have had while photographing?
I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as an interesting experience but rather as an enlightening one: After I had the chance to not only photograph Germany’s former Federal President Joachim Gauck but also have a chat on culture, society and art with him and his significant other, the journalist Daniel Schadt, afterwards, I sat down at home and really thought hard about how amazing this experience was and how crazy it (actually still) is, that the camera always acted (and still acts) as a door opener in that sense, that it granted me access to places and situations so few have/had access to. And for that I’m unbelievably grateful.
If it wasn’t for photography, what would you be interested in doing instead?
It’s hard to think of this what if situation since I’m interested in so many things besides photography and I’m not quite sure whether that’s because of photography or not.
What are you currently working on, and—if there is—what is your next project or journey?
My partner and I—she’s a very talented graphic designer with a wonderful photographic eye—are working on two photo books together. Both books will feature photographic works of both of us; one is set in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Naoshima) and one is a collection of photographs created throughout the last several years. Unfortunately, since they are still in the early stages, there is no release date available yet.
Since it would have been odd to thank myself for the interview, I'd like to thank everyone who was willing to devote their time into answering my questions—thank you!
What is the story you want your pictures to tell?
I’m interested in conveying a sense of the complexity of the world we’re living in and want to simplify it in a way that allows the viewer not to feel overwhelmed by it (if that makes sense). For example, in my (already mentioned) series «Neighborhood Typologies», I chose to focus on a specific set of markers that indicate a specific thing, out of an indefinite set of markers that all indicate an indefinite set of things—I aimed at reducing the complexity of my surrounding to tell the story, in that particular case, of my neighborhood (in a small sense) and about our society (in a much broader sense).
Which city would you like to visit the most, and why?
Well, I’ve been to Tokyo already. So, that’s a check. Next on my list would be the city of Algiers, I guess. I don’t have a specific connection to that particular city. Ever since I went to Morocco, I’m intrigued by the idea of visiting more places in Northern Africa, Algiers in particular.
What is your personal relationship to cities, and how do you perceive them as places in general?
I once wrote a text I might publish at some point in time. I’d like to quote it: «For those who dare, the city can turn into a dream fulfilled—as they see it as something inspiring, emotional and surprising — providing them with nearly endless possibilities to develop and express themselves, allowing them to live a prosperous life; for those who dare, life in the city can be a very liberating experience.
For those who don’t, the city could turn into their worst nightmare of ferroconcrete and glass, easily overwhelming them in a cold and rational manner, only to leave them behind in a disturbingly claustrophobic and anxious state. […] The city itself is never really threatening but merely a mirror of yourself, a reflection of your soul if you will […].»
What is the driving force behind creation?
What about, the desire to change the world? Even if it’s just that tiny little part of «world» oneself is living in? The wish, and sometimes urge, to make it a slightly more beautiful, kind, and/or more habitable place? This applies to the material outside world as well as the immaterial inside of oneself.
Which project did you never finish?
Far too many for them to be listed here.
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