In the series Junge Siegerin, I’m exploring the condition of vulnerability. To be vulnerable for me means being in touch with my feelings. That connects me to the world around and allows me to live courageously. I was searching for people who would show themselves and express their vulnerability. All pictures were taken in Berlin and the girls come from different parts of the city.
Sociological data played no crucial role in choosing the models. The series is motivated out of emotional aspects, not comparative ones. I followed my fascination for faces and my need for authentic expression. Working with the girls was a step back in time when I was young. Discovering their authenticity with my camera became my own opportunity to express myself. It felt like adding a piece to my own image, back then and now.
About the Artist
Sarah Walzer (b. 1979, Germany) has been working as psychologist in social counseling institutions since five years, before she began her training of photography and design at the age of 31.
She graduated at the Ostkreuzschule für Photographie und Gestaltung in 2014 with her series, Junge Siegerin. Her final project is self-published, the second edition of Junge Siegerin, which has been featured on several photo festivals since its release.
In her work, she deals with vulnerability and explores the transformational power of authentic feeling and expression. The encounter between the model and the photographer as well as the dynamics which evolve from is an important tool for her work. She predominantly photographs in black and white and does her own enlargements in the darkroom.