Please introduce yourself: What is your name, where are you from, what do you do?
AV: My name is Andrea Vollmer. I live as a photographer in Berlin and work on personal and commissioned projects in the field between documentary and conceptual photography.
MKH: My name is Michael Kuchinke-Hofer, born and raised in Berlin. I work as a photographer in the fields of portrait and documentary photography. Since 2016 we also work as a team on projects together.
What is your relationship with photography, and how did you get into it?
AV: I have studied photography at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hannover.
MKH: I have completed training as a photographer at the Freie Universität Berlin.
What do you think triggers you to photograph in a certain moment? Is it planned or solely driven by intuition?
AV & MKH: Referring to our project Zwischen Pyramiden [In between Pyramids], it is a combination of planned motifs and motifs inspired by the environment and people.
What is the story you want your pictures to tell?
AV & MKH: The aura of La Grande Motte was what attracted us and what we transport in our work Zwischen Pyramiden [In between Pyramids].
Which city would you like to visit the most, and why?
AV: I'm interested in remote places. I would love to visit a city like Tromsø in Norway.
MKH: Inspired by Hong Kong cinema, I would love to visit that city.
What is your personal relationship to cities, and how do you perceive them as places in general?
AV & MKH: The city reflects people's relationships with each other and their relationship to the environment. This is what makes it so interesting to explore as a photographer.
Regarding your project Zwischen Pyramiden [In between Pyramids]: What was your intention, and how did you come up with the idea?
AV & MKH: We became aware of this city through a documentary. After a first visit, we were so taken by the uniqueness of this place that we decided to approach this city in a photographic project.
If you could travel back/forth in time, what advice would you give your younger/older self?
AV: I would recommend to my young self to go out as a young person to discover other places and cultures.
MKH: That I would have taken the opportunity to travel abroad as a volunteer sooner.
If it wasn’t for photography, what would you be interested in doing instead?
MKH: Assemble bicycles.
How would you describe one of your pictures to a blind person?
AV & MKH: The photo Passerelle des Ecargots shows a view of a bridge that stretches across a street in the shape of a snail, its feelers illuminating the way for pedestrians in the dark with their warm light. This pedestrian bridge was humorously designed by architect Jean Balladur as a symbol of slowing down.
What are you currently working on, and—if there is—what is your next project or journey?
AV & MKH: Our next project could be in Finland.
Thank you, Andrea. Thank you, Michael!
If it wasn’t for photography, what would you be interested in doing instead?
MKH: Assemble bicycles.
How would you describe one of your pictures to a blind person?
AV & MKH: The photo Passerelle des Ecargots shows a view of a bridge that stretches across a street in the shape of a snail, its feelers illuminating the way for pedestrians in the dark with their warm light. This pedestrian bridge was humorously designed by architect Jean Balladur as a symbol of slowing down.
What are you currently working on, and—if there is—what is your next project or journey?
AV & MKH: Our next project could be in Finland.
Thank you, Andrea. Thank you, Michael!
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