Swiss photographer Philipp Mueller documented the early days of the techno scene at the beginning of the 1990s in raw photographs – between sequin, plastic and latex – from the very first Zurich Street Parades to the illegal raves and backstage parties in clubs or in the intimacy of private venues for different publications. The book presents a collection of forward-thrusting photo sequences from the years of techno’s rise in Switzerland to become one of the last great youth movements in the country, leaving its imprint on the nightlife, clubs and ongoing innovation in electronic dance music to this day.

Philipp Mueller, born in Zurich and based in Paris, is a professional portrait photographer in the areas of sports, music and film. Among his subjects were the Pet Shop Boys, Daniel Brühl and Roger Federer. His work appears in L’Uomo Vogue, Vogue Germany, GQ… to name a few.
07.04.2022 show complete article

Author and photographer David Staretz has been traveling to Odessa, a nostalgic city, on a regular basis for twenty years. The cosmopolitan city in the south of the Ukraine is known for its beaches and 19th century architecture. Since the annexation of Crimea by Russia eight years ago, the city has been the country’s only access to seaborne trade. The port city on the Black Sea has so far been spared the fighting seen in other parts of the Ukraine.

With his Siberian wife Viktoriya Sitochina, David Staretz led a second life in Odessa with the motto: “You cannot choose what you love. Everywhere you look, the city is grim, decrepit, and in decay. But its cobblestone charm, the homey buterbrodnajas, or sandwich shops, the industrial harbor, the complete absence of irony or the constant pursuit of zeitgeist attracts me... Odessa is reminiscent of an idealized Vienna that never existed, but with a steep coast and a harbor. A nostalgic city, although I have never managed to figure out what actually makes it so fascinating. In any case, the people of Odessa love animals. Stray dogs are given sweaters to wear in winter. And they love their city. Which is why they leave everything the way it is: in grandiose dilapidation. But this love doesn’t necessarily have to do with beauty. And so, this book is not an ode to the city, it simply shows what it looks and feels like there: meager, funny, gritty, decayed and warmly humane; hence in a certain manner it radiates innocence.”

ODESSA is a personal book, a document of a European loss of culture communicated through inspiring documentary photography and personal texts written by David Staretz.

David Staretz (*1956 in Horn, Austria) took his book project to Edition FOTOHOF Salzburg, a small publishing company and photo gallery funded by author photographers, for the reason that this would allow him to “push his book into the clockwork of the market from a privileged marginal position.” (Editors: Rainer Iglar/Michael Mauracher, text by David Staretz, Design: Markus Pölzl, German / English, 16.5 x 23.5 cm, 288 pages, approx. 400 b&w + color plates, € 33.00, FOTOHOF Edition).
31.03.2022 show complete article

In 1889, Georg August Zenker, a gardener and botanist from Leipzig, took charge of the Jaunde research station in the German colony of Cameroon. Following a six-year tenure, Zenker was surprisingly relieved of his duties. He was said to be leading a polygamous life at the station with several African women, some of whom had given birth to his children. We read on Wikipedia : “Far away from European controlling structures, Zenker established a network of personal relationships based on polygyny from which five children were born over the course of the following years. In November 1891, Max-Felix Zenker was born, whose mother was Embolo, the daughter of Chief Tschungi Mballa Ngono. A woman from Dahomé gave birth to Curt Julius and Hans Zenker. His third wife during this time was Ngoso, the daughter of Esono Ela’s brother, Onambele Ela.”

Zenker left the country only to return soon afterwards as a private citizen. He settled with his family (a woman from Dahomé and five children) deep in the Cameroon jungle in Bipindi where he built Bipindihof, a German colonial-style house as well as vast cocoa, rubber and banana plantations.

The mainstay of his livelihood consisted in collecting copious botanical and zoological specimens as well as ethnographic objects for German museums. Zenker’s thoughts and actions were heavily influenced by the colonial mindset. But on a number of occasions, he clearly opposed the colonialist and militaristic practices of his superiors and other German countrymen.

Despite not having a formal education in natural sciences, Zenker made a number of contributions in the fields of botany and zoology. He sent 5,000 plant specimens to Germany alone. Among the main recipients of his objects were the Zoological Museum of the Friedrich Wilhelms University in Berlin, the Botanical Central Bureau for the German Colonies, and the Ethnological Museum. Since he was also a painter and illustrator, he often included color sketches of his exhibits. When the German Schutztruppe retreated to the neighboring country of Rio Muni in the beginning of 1916, Zenker was assigned the task of destroying the bridge over the Lokundje river after they had crossed it. He refused to do so and was the only German to be tolerated in Cameroon after the end of the war for this reason.

He died in 1922 and was buried on the grounds of his Bipindihof. Zenker’s descendants live widely dispersed in Cameroon and Europe today, but most of them still regard the now crumbling Bipindihof as the cradle of the family. For their project, photographers Yana Wernicke and Jonas Feige traveled to the present-day Republic of Cameroon several times in order to retrace Zenker’s life there and portray his descendants.


About – Kamerun. Due to the establishment of trading posts by Hamburg-based trading company Woermannn in 1868 at the mouth of the Wouri River, German influence in Cameroon grew stronger and stronger. On 14 July, 1884, German Consulate General and Imperial Commissioner, Gustav Nachtigal, signed protection treaties with several headmen of the Duala and other regional leaders, proclaiming the protectorate of Cameroon a German colony. During the First World War, the outnumbered German Schutztruppe was able to resist in Cameroon for two years despite not having sufficient supplies. In 1916, the last garrison in Mora, northern Cameroon, surrendered to the British colonial forces. As stipulated in the Treaty of Versaille from 1919, Cameroon officially became property of the League of Nations, which then granted a mandate for administration to Great Britain and France. This resulted in the division of the country, according to which France received four-fifths. It was not until 1 January, 1960, that French Cameroon – upon holding a referendum and expiration of the UN mandate – gained independence and was renamed the Republic of Cameroon.


About – Yana Wernicke (*1990) and Jonas Feige (*1988) are two photographers residing in Berlin. Both studied photography at Berlin’s Ostkreuz School of Photography and combine artistic and documentary approaches in their photographic work. Their photographs have been exhibited and awarded internationally.


ZENKER – Yana Wernicke and Jonas Feige . With original letters from Georg August Zenker (German/English) and texts by Jonas Feige, Yana Wernicke, Georg August Zenker, Elisabeth Zenker, Jean Michel Zenker, Marie-Thérèse Zenker. Design by Studio Krispin Heé (Krispin Heé, Tim Wetter) . German/ English . 18.5 x 26.6 cm . Hardcover . 268 pages . 164 images . € 68.- . ISBN 78-3-907236-18-5 . Edition Patrick Frey . GoSee :  editionpatrickfrey.com///zenker
20.09.2021 show complete article