Mario Wezel (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover)
Gold | Portfolio
Together
Mathias (left) sits with his friend Trols at the sea shortly after the sun has set. They are outside almost the whole day and enjoy being away from the city. With a group of eight friends they have bought an old sialing boat. They live in a small city at the danish coast where they restore to boat. Next year they want to start sailing the world with it.
Remembering
Siegried Jenkner was part of a revolutionary student group in the early years of the GDR, called the “Belter-Groupâ€. The group tried to resist against the cooptation back than. Together with other members of his group Mr. Jenkner was arrested in 1950. He was sent to court and sentenced to 25 years of labor camp. He was pardoned in 1955 and fled the country to west Germany. Today he is visiting schools to remember younger generations of the history of Germany
Driving
Niels Calundan stands at a traffic light in the town of Bad Hersfeld, Germany. The red light shines in his face. Mr. Calundan is a Danish businessman who travels often to Germany to strengthen his connection to the German market. He is on the road a lot and driving hundreds of kilometers each day when he is in Germany.
Author Jeet Thayil
Jeet Thayil is an Indian author. Previously he has worked as a journalist in New York, Mumbai and Bangalore. He wrote the novel “Narcopolis†which is set in Bombai in the 70s and 80s and tells about the time when opium gave way to new cheap heroin. The story of his own past, he had been and alcoholic and addict for two decades gave inspiration for this portrait.
Sailing
Trols is standing in the front part of the boat looking out onto the sea. Him and some friends have decided spontaneously to go out for a few hours. Excpet from him, the other ones are not very experienced with sailing. Still they have the plan to sail the world together.
Men Only
For centuries the city of Bremen has had a strong economy. The hanse town was easily accessible from overseas and could tie strong bonds with business partners. For more than 500 years Bremen has had one special day where the old town hall becomes the venue for people of money and power. The "Schaffermahlzeit" is the oldest traditional fraternity dinner in the world. Back in the days it was created to bring together ship captains and owners, nowadays business men from all over the country and sometimes the rest of the world, gather for one day to catch up and tie new bonds. Being invited there is a great honor and a once in a lifetime experience. Simply because you are only allowed to take part once. Wearing a tailcoat is a must and even though we live in the 21st century, no women are allowed during the whole event. During the "walk of the penguins" (that is when the men walk from venue A to venue B) their wives gather at the side waving at their men chatting with each other. The dinner itself starts at exactly 14.36 and takes several hours with a strict time schedule. During that time the 300 guests sit in long rows in the city hall while the women have dinner next door, following the whole event on a big screen TV.
A man walks through the hall of the city hall Bremen, the venue of the 470. Schaffermahlzeit. He is followed by his assistant.
Two guests of the Schaffermahlzeit look at the board where all guests can find their seats for the main meal in the afternoon. The reservation of seats is just as strict as the fact that the served seven course menu has been the same since the first Schaffermahlzeit.
The three organizers of the 470. Schaffemahlzeit greet their guests at the reception. They shake hands with every 300 guests. Normally you are only allowed to visit this event once in your lifetime, there is however an exception if you were once one of the organizers. These local business man get granted life long access to the Schaffermahlzeit.
A woman is looking for the toilet in the city hall of Bremen. Her husband is a participant of the Schaffermahlzeit, that is why is allowed in the building. During the whole official part of the event, men and women are separated.
Guests of the Schaffermahlzeit leave the first reception to walk to the city hall where the main meal will take place. The walk across the big square is called “walk of the penguinsâ€.
Guests of the Schaffermahlzeit enter the official gate of the city hall. The doors are guarded by policemen. Every year there are protests against the event since many people see it as an ancient tradition that doesn’t fit into the modern days.
After the reception at the local board of trade, the guests walk across a big square to enter the city hall. This is called “the walk of the penguins†since all guests are wearing a tailcoat and it’s one big line of them in front of the entrance. Along the road the wife’s of the guests wait for their husbands to pass by and wave at them.
Story: Men Only
Separation
During the second reception, shortly before the main meal starts, the men gather for drinks while their wives stand on a balcony watching from above.
Story: Men Only
Mandatory
Wearing a tailcoat is mandatory at the Schaffermahlzeit. The shoes are polished and everything has to be in the right place. The guests are listening to a speech at the first reception of the day.
Guests of the Schaffermahlzeit gather in the big hall of the city hall. For five minutes, press representatives are also allowed in the hall. After that they have to leave at 2.36pm sharp. At 2.40pm the first of seven courses is served. Throughout the whole afternoon there is a very precise schedule at the table. The menu hasn’t been changed since the first time the event was held.
One in Eighthundred
After the implementation of prenatal screenings across all of Denmark in 2004, the numbers of newborns with Down's syndrome dropped intensively. While between 2000 and 2004 around 60 children were born with the chromosomal disease each year, in 2006 only 31 were born. More than 95% of all Danish parents to be, decide to have an abortion if they find out that they are about to carry out a baby with Trisomy 21. – A drastic change of the social landscape.
Emmy is five years old and has Down's syndrome. With her parents Martin and Karina and her younger brother Kristian, she lives in the countryside in the middle of Denmark. For one year she has been attending the local kindergarten now and is about to have her first day of school at a public inclusive school, 30 kilometers away from home. Her parents had to fight with the municipality to find the right spot for Emmy.
Karina and Martin were given a low risk of 1:800 at their screening. "Emmy was just the number one", they say today. The cut off is set at 1:300, meaning that invasive measures are recommended by doctors. Only the invasive test can give a clear answer about the health condition of the fetus.
The small family has managed to create a home full of life and warmth by today, even though the first months after Emmy was born they were in shock and had to align their expectations. They had to rethink their ideas of what is normal or perfect.
The world in their everyday life turns a little bit slower as Emmy just takes her time with many things. They are aware of that but seemed to have arranged themselves with it just fine.
It is not sure how the issue will develop in Denmark throughout the next years. For me that development is a sign for our strive for perfection. We don't feel comfortable about bumps in the road and need to plan and know everything in advance. The story of Emmy and her family shows how much you can gain if you let life surprise yourself from time to time.
Story: One in Eighthundred
caring
Karina is holding Emmy on her arm in the evening hours of a long summer day. The sun is still shining warm through the window and Emmy enjoys the comfort of her mother. Emmy enjoys the physical closeness. Even with strangers, she often hugs them without knowing them.
Story: One in Eighthundred
searching
On the way back from shopping in the next town, Karina pulls over at the side of the road and starts to play with the kids in the green cornfield. Kristian is more than one year younger than his sister but they are about the same stage of development.
Story: One in Eighthundred
birthday
It is Emmy's fifth birthday and the grandparents are visiting for brunch. While Karina is chatting with her father in law, Martin holds Emmy in his arms. Both seem to be drifting away with their thoughts.
Story: One in Eighthundred
outside
On the way back home, Emmy stares out the window into the danish countryside as daylight fades.
Story: One in Eighthundred
shower
While playing in the garden, Emmy has fallen of the shower. She starts to cry and pees her pants. Karina puts her in the shower where Emmy plays with the water. Emmy doesn’t feel the need for a toilet. Karina and Martin have to ask her regularly.
Story: One in Eighthundred
parents
After a long day Karina and Martin sit on their couch and watch TV. They both work a full job but manage to spend a lot of time with their kids. While one of them takes the kids to kindergarten, the other goes to work early to come back earlier and pick the kids up.
Story: One in Eighthundred
forest
Emmy is playing hide and seek with her father. The two of them went to a small lake while Karina and Kristian went to the city to see a movie at the cinema.
Story: One in Eighthundred
playing
While playing in the house with her brother and her mum, Emmy fades away in her thoughts for a short moment.
Story: One in Eighthundred
autumn
The family is visiting Hannover, Germany. While walking around the city they find a big stack of coloured leaves. All four of them start to play with it, not carring if there are other people around, really just enjoying themselves. The family often seems to not care so much what people around them think of them.
Story: One in Eighthundred
help
Emmy walks down the stairs holding her fathers hand. Her motor-abilities force her two take the stairs very slowly. Her joints are not working as good as the ones of other children.
Story: One in Eighthundred
water
Emmy is on a trip with her brother Kristian and her Grandmother. After playin in the forest for a while she cools down her feet in the lake. She looks through the clear water on the ground of the lake and explores the water very slowly.
Story: One in Eighthundred
stars
Karina just woke up Emmy. The wall is sprinkled with light reflexes from the pailletes of Karinas shirt. In 2004, around 60 children were born with Down's Syndrome in Denmark, the number sank due to national screening policy down to 21 in 2012.
Sin began with Marlene
The cultivation of apples at the Val Venosta in Alto Adige, Italy's northern-most province has been drastically increasing in the last decades. About one million tons of apples are being produced there every year (among them sorts like Marlene or Golden Delicious) - and contribute with this amount to an esteemed twelve percent of Europe‘s production of apples. The apple fields of Alto Adige make for the biggest connected fields of cultivation of fruit in Europe. Most towns in the valley have started to participate in the apple industry. Just one small town at the western end of the valley has refused. Mals, with it's 5000 inhabitants has started to revolt against the traditional agricultural sector. In early September 2014, a referendum on the usage of pesticides was held- a novelty in the history of the European Union. 75% voted for a ban of pesticides. Apples are three times more profitable than the cultivation of wheat or rye. But they also promise a much easier living – while being more profitable - in comparison to the humble profits of cow-farmers. This recent development has changed prices of land dramatically. Within a few years, prices went from 30 Euros until up to 90 Euros per square meters. Fertile land seems almost impossible to be bought by local farmers. Therefore the intensive farming seems to succeed - most of all in financial terms. As a result of usage of pesticides grave results can be witnessed: the decline of biodiversity as well as vanishing habitats for animals and plants as well as serious problems for organic farmers. The area now has the chance to become a role model for many other regions in Europe.
Story: Sin began with Marlene
blossoming
Apple blossoms are illuminated by the full moon. The white leaves shine bright. The beauty of the plants doesn't give you a hint about the heavy use of pesticides that is necessary to keep the farming simple.
Story: Sin began with Marlene
Fighting the Poison
Guenther Wallenhoefer is an organic farmer from Italy’s northern most province South Tyrol. He lives in the small town of Laatsch where he has been fighting together with other activists against the heavy use of pesticides by local apple farmers. The area is one of the biggest connected fruit cultivation fields in Europe. Pesticides threaten the harvest of the few organic farmers in the valley. The strong winds often blow the pesticides from the neighbors onto their fields. In August of this year a referendum in the town was held, initiated by Mr. Wallenhoefer and his colleagues. 75% of all inhabitants voted for a ban of all pesticides in the farming area of the town. At the time the portrait was taken, the future of Mr.Wallenhoefers organic farm was still unsure since it was before the referendum. The positive outcome might shine much further than just his region in Italy but throughout all of Europe, since this is the first time that a town has voted like this in the European Union.
Story: Sin began with Marlene
prices
A cable car takes visitors from Latsch up to St. Martin. The sun has just started to rise. The apple fields down in the valley offer an interesting pattern from above. Down in the valley there is basically no free space available. Prices for the fertile land have gone up throughout the last years from 15€ to around 90€ per square meter.
Story: Sin began with Marlene
protection
A white cover is stretched over the organic herb fields of the family Gluderer. They have been growing organic herbs for years but their neighbors are all conventional apple farmers, using a lot of pesticides. Strong winds in the valley often blow the pesticides onto the Gluderer’s fields. To protect their harvest they have already spent around 100.000€. Besides the very expensive white cover they have also built a 12-meter high water wall, which is turned on during the neighbors use pesticides.
Story: Sin began with Marlene
family
Martina Hellrigl and her son Anton sit in a tree house inside their garden in the town of Mals. Mrs. Hellrigl is the mother of two. She is part of the initiative “Hollawint†that has been fighting for the realization of a referendum in Italy’s northern most province South Tyrol. The inhabitants of the town of Mals were, after a fight with politicians and apple farmers, given the right to vote about the ban of pesticides. Around 75% voted for banning the pesticides, which is a novelty in the European Union. Mrs. Hellrigl took part in the initiative because she felt she also owned it to her children to protect the nature around them from the heavy use of pesticides.
Story: Sin began with Marlene
clean
Shortly before the tourist season starts, the pools of the hotels are not clean yet. A statue stands aside a pool on a hill above Meran, overlooking the Valley with all its apple plantations.
Story: Sin began with Marlene
Picking
The “Golden Delicious†is the flagship of the local apple industry. End of September or early October the mellow fruits are being picked. Many of the apple pickers are originally from eastern Euorpean countries. They come to South Tyrol only for the six weeks of picking time.
Story: Sin began with Marlene
Gluderer
amily Gluderer has been growing organic herbs in the middle part of the valley of Vinschgau for over ten years. Apple plantations surround their land. To prevent the pesticides of being blown on their harvest, they had to invest more than 100.000 Euros in the last years, building a stout canvas over all of their land as well as a 12-meter high water wall that can be used if the neighbors are using pesticides in that moment.
Story: Sin began with Marlene
Mals
The market town of Mals is the first town in the European Union that has voted for a ban of all pesticides in farming for the whole area. Early September 2014 the result was officially released: 75% voted for the ban. Thereby, Mals could become a lighthouse of a new way of farming not only in Italy but also in all of Europe.
Story: Sin began with Marlene
Tourism
On a Sunday afternoon, the farms around Meran have opened their doors for tourists. One of the owners has put a peacock in the apple fields as an attraction for the tourists. The region of South Tyrol is a very popular destination for tourists around Europe.