by Valentin Goppel (Photographer)
On New Years Eve in 2020, Valentin Goppel began to photograph his friends and acquaintances in an attempt to both process and represent the disorientation he felt during the time of Covid. Through taking pictures of his friends he found a way to deal with the state of uncertainty. It wasn't difficult for him to explain to them the pictures he was looking for--they were all in the middle of the same situation and felt connected in a state of limbo. The book's title Zwischen den Jahren, describes the time between Christmas and New Year--the time between years. It acts as a metaphor to explain the period of transition between child and adulthood, in addition to the sense of suspended time or paralysis between before the Covid pandemic and an unknown future.
Author Biography
Valentin Goppel (born 2000) is a photographer based in Hanover, Germany. He has been awarded the Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award and the Visa pour l'image urban newcomer grant. His work has been exhibited widely including at the Leica Gallery Singapore, Ernst Leitz-Museum Wetzlar, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Leica Gallery LA and Citadel Saladin, Cairo, amongst others. His work has been featured in international publications including Die Zeit and The New York Times.