Mavericks
Photography in the 1970s and 1980s

The Berlin Wall divided the city from 1961. Framed by different political systems, photographers evolved a variety of styles in both East and West.

For many non-conformist artists in the GDR, East Berlin was an appealing place to live and work from the late 1970s onwards. Younger artists in particular distanced themselves from the Socialist Realism promoted by the ruling party, turning above all to black-and-white for new aesthetic strategies: subjective, sober and uncompromising. From the mid-1980s, when the SED party relaxed its arts policy, they were also able to exhibit in galleries, clubs and art centres.

Dialogue between East and West was rare. West Berlin, a geographical island highly subsidised by funds from West Germany, was a magnet for students and jobseekers, but also for artists and free-thinking spirits. The city itself was an aesthetic and thematic reference; photography was its reflective medium. Artists tackled social issues from unconventional perspectives, depicting daily life, work and political protest. There was also a vibrant experimental subculture that threw traditional body imagery overboard and reinforced queer identities.