Portraits by August Sander, influential German photographer, on display in Hong Kong, show his powerful social commentary
- A selection of images from the German photographer’s decades-long social documentary project ‘People of the Twentieth Century’ are on show at f22 foto space
- Spurning Leica’s 35mm cameras, Sander used a large-format camera and long exposures to capture the faces of his subjects in fine detail and in their context
Many photos appear simple on the surface but, on deeper inspection, reveal much about a time, place and its people.
Secretary at West German Radio, Cologne is one of those photos.
Taken in 1931 by German photographer August Sander, the black-and-white image depicts an androgynous female figure seated, cigarette in hand.
“This short-haired woman with a stylish look and a cigarette in her hand represented modernisation and the rise of feminism and women’s liberation in German society,” says Shirley Fisher, a spokeswoman for f22 foto space, the gallery at the Peninsula Hong Kong hotel, which is hosting an exhibition of photographs by Sander.
“Faces by August Sander” features 60 images taken by the documentary photographer renowned for his portraits, many of which first appeared in his Face of Our Time photo book published in 1929.