These photographs are scans of the 50 x 60 cm (20×24 Inch) large originals, photographed on black & white positive photo paper. But they do not reach the visual aesthetic preserved in the original photographs. Price for a limited unique Still-Life on request.
Note: All images are protected by German Urheberrecht ©.
Sea Snail
Three quarters of the litter in the ocean is plastic, which breaks down into microplastics over time. However, microplastics also enter the oceans from other sources. For example, the small plastic particles are added to cosmetic products such as peelings or shower gels. Microplastics can also be produced by abrasion of plastic materials, e.g. tyre wear or washing synthetic textiles. Microplastic particles enter the bodies of marine animals and can also be absorbed into the human organism through their consumption. What effects this can have has not yet been researched as of today (January 2023).
Hong Kong Orchid
The Hong Kong Bauhina is a species of orchid and symbolizes the city of Hong Kong. On June 30, 2020, China’s highest legislative body passed a new “National Security Protection Law” in Hong Kong. The law allows China to criminalize acts it deems “subversive against state power,” “terroristic” or “conspiring with foreign forces.” Along with the umbrella, a wilting Hong Kong orchid is a symbol of the democracy movement in Hong Kong.
Grain
The growth of the world’s population and the increasing use of agricultural crops for bioenergy are causing agricultural land to expand more and more. Cereals are now being grown in regions that are not originally suitable for this purpose. However, the expansion of cultivated areas is problematic. Important ecosystems fall victim to the expansion and monocultures are often created that promote soil erosion and pest infestation.
Asylum Application
Safe countries of origin are countries where the legislature assumes that political persecution does not take place there. Asylum applications by people from countries of origin classified as safe are generally rejected unless special circumstances speak against it. In 2019, 62% of asylum applications submitted in a member state of the European Union were rejected.
Protective Masks
The Covid 19 virus has spreaded across the globe. Some countries, such as the U.S., India and Brazil, have been particularly hard hit. The U.S. Johns Hopkins University (JHU) reports 250,486,697 infected people and 5,058,876 deaths worldwide as of early November 2021. Vaccination and simple hygiene measures such as wearing protective masks can help to protect yourself and others from infection in everyday life. However, they are no guarantee of not contracting the virus.
Fist
Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Jacob Blake…: Time and again, black people in the U.S. are killed or seriously injured by police violence. Since 2015, about 1000 people have been killed by security forces every year, that’s what the Washington Post counted. Most of them were shot. Blacks are affected proportionally more often
Razor Wire
People seeking protection are often forced to put their lives at risk. Militarily secured borders ensure that those seeking protection can only enter with difficulty or not at all. Ever closer cooperation with transit countries along the flight routes is intended to ensure that people are intercepted as early as possible. There are hardly any safe access routes. Thus, access to a fair asylum procedure is denied. This contradicts the Geneva Refugee Convention and international human rights.
Kippa
In 2019, the number of anti-Semitic crimes in Germany reached the highest level since statistical recording began some twenty years ago, with more than 2,000 offenses. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the increase compared to the previous year is around 13 percent.
Fur
Worldwide, millions of animals are killed each year for the fur trade in order to process their skins into coats, jackets or caps. For one fur coat, 30 to 50 raccoons or 14 lynxes, 40 to 60 minks, twelve wolves, 110 squirrels or 130 to 200 chinchillas die. Fur animals are kept in cages and thus deprived of any possibility to behave in a species-appropriate manner. On fur farms, not even the minimum requirements, that these animals make to their environment, are fulfilled. In many countries fur-bearing wild animals are still hunted or caught with traps in the wild.
Saw Chain
The Amazon basin covers almost the entire northern half of the continent of South America. Here is the largest remaining rainforest block on earth. It extends over nine states of South America. In 2019, around 9,800 square kilometers of forest were cleared in the Amazon region. Since 1990, over 400,000 square kilometers of forest have been cleared in the Amazon region.
Teddy Bear
It is estimated that one billion children and adolescents between the ages of two and 17 are affected by physical, sexual or psychological violence every year worldwide. Most of the time, it is men who mistreat or abuse children. But often there are women in their environment who support the perpetrators, look the other way or leave the victims alone. When cases of child abuse become known, there is always the question of how it could have happened. Look and don’t look away. Taboo and silence protects the perpetrators.
UN Soldier
Sending peacekeeping missions to conflict areas is a key instrument of the United Nations peacekeeping. UN soldiers from a wide range of countries pursue the goal of containing violence, preventing the escalation of conflicts and ensuring the basic security of people in crisis regions. However, the mission for peace can be deadly. By the end of 2020, approximately 3960 members of UN peacekeeping missions had lost their lives in the line of duty.
Wood
Storms, extreme drought, above-average forest fires, environmental pollution and bark beetle infestations – this has caused enormous damage to Germany’s forests in recent years. In 2019, trees with a volume of around 46 million cubic meters of wood were felled to protect the healthy stock.
4500 Coffee Capsules
According to the calculations of the German Environmental Aid (Deutsche Umwelthilfe), a total of 3.5 billion coffee capsules were consumed in Germany in 2018. This results in a mountain of waste consisting of 8,800 tons of aluminum and plastic and an additional 5,000 tons of paper for the outer packaging. According to the major brand manufacturers, 17,712,000 coffee capsules are produced daily.
Temple Hair
Among Hindu pilgrims, it is customary to sacrifice their hair in Indian temples after a vow or at a new stage of life. The cut-off female hair is particularly sought after for further processing, because it can be used to achieve a high quality in wigs. Just as a red ribbon is a symbol of solidarity with HIV-infected people and AIDS patients worldwide, a pink ribbon symbolizes solidarity with women suffering from breast cancer. For women suffering from breast cancer, the loss of hair due to chemotherapy is often a terrible situation. Wearing wigs brings you back some normality in everyday life.
Sponges
Researchers refer to the fading of colorful tropical coral reefs as coral bleaching. One of the best known and most severely affected coral reefs is the Australian Great Barrier Reef. The reason for coral bleaching is the high water temperatures triggered by climate change and the climate phenomenon El Niño.
Note: All images are protected by German Urheberrecht ©.
Josef Dreisörner – Photographic Art
c/o Dreisörner Werbeagentur GmbH
Kaulbachstr. 61, 80539 Munich, Germany
+49 89 688 6778
info@josef-dreisoerner.de