Interview

Andrea Vollmer, Michael Kuchinke-Hofer, Zwischen Pyramiden

080 PH • La Grande Motte, France

AK: 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.

AK: 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.

AK: 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.

AK: 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]».

AK: 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.

AK: 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.

AK: 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.

AK: 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.

AK: If it wasn’t for photography, what would you be interested in doing instead?

MKH: Assemble bicycles. 

AK: 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.

AK: 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.

AK: Thank you, Andrea. Thank you, Michael!

Project Information:

«Zwischen Pyramiden [In between Pyramids]», is a photo essay of a utopian city by the sea, photographed by Andrea Vollmer in collaboration with Michael Kuchinke-Hofer, and published in Die ZEIT. Fifty years ago, French architect Jean Balladur created a city like no other in the south of France—La Grande Motte. With symbolism inspired by nature, distant cultures and the visual arts, the architect realized his vision of an ideal city. According to his philosophy, the city should serve the well-being of residents and tourists. In 2011, La Grande Motte was awarded the «Heritage of the 20th Century» award for its evolved unity of architecture and vegetation. We traced this heritage and captured the aura of this extraordinary place in our photographs.

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Photography: Andrea Vollmer, Michael Kuchinke-Hofer (2021)
Location: La Grande Motte, France

Links: Website (Andrea Vollmer, Michael Kuchinke-Hofer), Instagram (Andrea Vollmer, Michael Kuchinke-Hofer)