Since 2020, Falk Haberkorn and Sven Johne have been skimming photographic collections from the 1990s in East German regional and city archives with the aim of creating a representative synopsis of all the material based on a systematic review. Their focus lies on the once heavily industrialised regions of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia that were particularly affected by the massive structural change in the wake of German reunification. Their research is guided by the question whether or to what extent this far-reaching transformation of East German society is also reflected in the holdings of municipal archives: What was considered worthy of archiving at the time? Which kind of material was included, how was it filed and recorded? What kind of picture do these photographs paint of a period of radical change, not only for recent East German history?
After their survey of archives in Saxony-Anhalt was essentially completed in 2022, Haberkorn and Johne are now turning their attention to collections in Saxony and Thuringia.

Falk Haberkorn was born 1974 in Berlin (East). From 1993 to 1994, he studied Russian and Czech language and literature at Humboldt University in Berlin. From 1995 to 2002, he studied photography at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (HGB), where he graduated as a master student in 2006 and taught from 2018 to 2021. He lives and works as a freelance artist in Leipzig.

Sven Johne was born 1976 in Bergen auf Rügen. From 1996 to 1998, he studied German language and literature, journalism and onomatology at the University of Leipzig. From 1998 to 2004, he studied photography at the HGB Leipzig, where he graduated as a master student in 2006. In 2008, he was a resident at the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York, USA. In 2016, he received the Art Prize of the Academy of the Arts Berlin in the Visual Arts section. He lives and works as a freelance artist in Berlin.