Claudia Reinhardt: Witwen / Widows

“I have always been fascinated by the dark bedrooms with their heavy oak matrimonial beds, the living rooms that were never used (at most when visitors from outside came), and the kitchens that had to be always spick and span and tidy. Symbols of a German childhood. Mirrors of a war generation that will soon no longer exist. For several years I visited more than thirty widows and photographed in their apartments. In my native town of Viernheim in southern Hesse, in Berlin, Hamburg, in the Ruhrpott and in Norway. I worked with a medium format camera, a cumbersome technique that gave me time and required a lot of patience.

I didn’t want to photograph the faces of the women, but rather in their apartments, to trace their inner state of mind. I found metaphors for their sadness, their melancholy and secretiveness. A difficult task, because for these women, home is not something to be shown and exhibited. Privacy is sacred to them. I was tempted by this challenge. This is exactly the essence of my photography. To gain access and insight. To tell hidden stories with pictures.” (Claudia Reinhardt, April 2020)