We are facing a marine crisis! This message is gaining momentum thanks to reports of rising sea levels, pollution, and species loss around the world. One thing is clear: this marine crisis is not only happening on the other side of the world, but also right off our own shores.
Without the sea, we cannot survive on this planet. With SDG 14, governments worldwide have committed to doing more for the oceans. However, the situation around the Baltic and North Seas is still not good.
The exhibition project “Meeresmenschen” (Sea People) by photographer Barbara Dombrowski addresses the highly topical socio-political issue of the oceans from various perspectives relating to sustainable use, protection, or simply coexistence with the sea in a rapidly changing world, by focusing on people and their everyday realities.
In the exhibition, Dombrowski builds a bridge between the coasts of Schleswig-Holstein and shows portrait photographs of various protagonists who live from and with the sea and often deal with it in very different ways – a fisherman on the Baltic Sea and a crab fisherman on the North Sea, a seaweed processor, an algae and mussel farm, scientists, a meteorologist, a climate activist, a dike reeve, conservationists, and several others. The aim of the exhibition is to provide food for thought about the current state of the two seas and to show the diverse and imaginative ways in which people live on, from, and with the sea, protect it, explore it, find ways between nature conservation and economic use, and solve problems.
In the exhibition, the people depicted are flanked by landscapes and detailed photographs illustrating their activities. The visual impression is reinforced by interview excerpts that can be accessed via an audio track. The interviews link to the website of Ocean Summit, a project partner from the very beginning, via a QR code, allowing visitors to engage more deeply with the protagonists beyond their visit to the exhibition.
After studying visual communication in Dortmund and spending four years in Paris, Barbara Dombrowski has been living in Hamburg since 1996. In addition to commissioned work for renowned magazines, aid organizations, and direct clients, she teaches documentary photography and gives lectures on the visualization of climate change. She has received numerous scholarships and awards for her work.
© Barbara Dombrowski 2024, www.barbaradombrowski.com
Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Please note: The museum will be closed on April 12 and 13 and on May 14 due to an event, as well as on Easter Sunday. We will be open on Good Friday and May 1.
Admission: €5 / reduced €3
