Marvin
Systermans
Fotografie
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Glaube
Sitte
Heimat

2016
in collaboration with the daily newspaper Westfalenpost and the 2016 M.A. class of the studio culture and identity at HFK Bremen

Shortlist Sony World Photography Award 2017
In South Westphalia structural change has been reshaping the industrial region for many years. Broadband expansion, digitization in companies and infrastructure for start-ups are just some of the challenges of the 21st century. The development is particularly visible in places where tradition meets modernization and something new emerges from it. In my exploration of this topic, I searched for places for the series Glaube, Sitte, Heimat (Faith, Custom, Home) where people are meeting for many generations to celebrate festivals and spend their free time. In winter, large vehicles, caravans and boats are parked here; in summer, festivals with several thousand visitors are celebrated. The wall decoration of another hall in the neighboring village manifests a romanticized vision of „Heimat“ landscapes, while the modern architecture of the ceiling and the loudspeakers on either side testify to renewal. The result is a collection of places that stand between tradition and modernity, equally anxious to preserve and renew. "Faith" is written in large letters on the wall of a hall of a local shooting club.An oversized plant brings life to the musty décor of a conference room in the local town hall, while the bowling alleys in the cellars of the inns seem like time capsules, faithfully preserved testaments to another generation, yet still as actively used as ever.