Photo exhibition 2023
Laurin Schmid (DE)
limit of hope
Place
Schlossweg
Guided tour
Thursday, May 18, 2023, 14.30
Sunday, May 21, 2023, 14.30
In German language
limit of hope
A long and arduous journey already lies behind the people who embark on the risky escape route from Libya across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. With the help of tugboats, they board the ramshackle boats that leave the beaches at night, crammed together and equipped with nothing but their clothes and a few liters of gasoline, enough to steer the rickety boats into international waters.
Anyone who snags a seat on one of the boats and is not subsequently discovered and brought back by the Libyan Coast Guard, or is shipwrecked and drowns, has a chance of being found and rescued by a passing boat. Fleeing war, poverty and a lack of prospects, the hope of freedom and prosperity outweighs the risk of this life-threatening journey.
The task of the aid organizations is to rescue shipwrecked people and to transport the rescued to a safe haven - a place where they are to be protected from persecution and discrimination and where their human rights are to be protected.
Laurin's images show the people, their emotions and the sensitive moments during the rescue operations, the crossing and the arrival in Italy.
At the "border of hope" courage meets fear, joy meets sorrow, life meets death. It means departure or end.
Laurin Schmid (DE)
Laurin Schmid has been working as a photojournalist for publishers, agencies, NGOs, ministries and companies for 15 years. He was born in Germany in 1983, lives in Berlin and his focus is on reportage and documentary photography.
In addition to his daily work as a press and PR photographer, Laurin deals with political, societal and social issues and works on personal projects for which he has traveled to the Mediterranean, North Korea, Iraq and the countries of the former Yugoslavia travelled. His photos are shown worldwide in newspapers and magazines, books and illustrated books as well as in exhibitions. He was nominated for the 2020 Sony World Photography Awards for his photo series "Relics of a Utopia".
His commitment to sea rescue in the central Mediterranean shaped Laurin professionally and personally. As part of the team from SOS Mediterranée and Doctors Without Borders, his tasks included not only the photographic documentation of the missions but also the care of the rescued.
In precarious emergency situations, everyone involved reaches the limits of their mental and physical resilience. In such situations, he put his camera aside and lent a hand.
With his pictures, Laurin wants to give the refugees a face and call on the public to show solidarity and humanity.
