Michael Danner: Critical Mass

My artistic works adopt a political and anthropological approach, in which I investigate contested sites and histories. The work takes the form of photographs and moving image, which often include archive material and text and are intertwined into multilayered systems.

 Germany – 

Photographer Photography feature – Michael Danner documents in his body of work Critical Mass the architecture, everyday routine, and security sys- tems of all 17 German nuclear power plants, as well as the ra- dioactive waste repository Asse II and the Gorleben explorato- ry mine. High hopes and deep skepticism have accompanied the use of nuclear power up to the present day. In the euphoric mood that prevailed in the 1950s, everything seemed possible; people took part in an unprecedented economic upswing and found nuclear energy to be a fascinating technology of the fu- ture. But in the 1980s the optimism of the years of boom gave way to a skepticism that was further fueled by the catastrophic nuclear accident in Chernobyl. Anti-nuclear activism has now shaped the political consciousness of a whole generation. And the disaster in Fukushima in 2011 heralded yet a new era in the debate – it seems that a nuclear phase-out in the medium-term is now inevitable. However, the issue of the final disposal of ra- dioactive waste is still unresolved.

DANNER_CRITICAL-MASS_0355

 

Danner’s pictures give us a rare glimpse behind the scenes of the power plants, showing areas that are normally off-limits. His se- ries is accompanied by historical photographs and texts that do- cument the planning and construction phases of the plants and visualize the social tensions. The layout of the book and the cut through the front cover refer to the interaction of the present time and the past and the conflict between nuclear power op- ponents and the authorities.

»Danner’s series of images follows the clear narration of gradu- ally moving from the outside to the inside. We approach the nu- clear power stations from a distance and then are led closer to the buildings, traversing entrance areas fitted with airlocks, stepping into changing rooms and taking detours to offices, canteens, gyms and exercise rooms, medical examination rooms and training rooms, and finally arrive at the control centres. Additional airlocks grant passage into the machine room and, finally, we enter the innermost, arcane area of the reactor itself, the steel ball in which the actual reactor containing the fuel rods is located.«

Susanne Holschbach

Related Posts

Douglas Stockdale on Renee Jacobs PARIS

USA –  THIS STORY CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT Renee Jacobs (American, born 1962, Philadelphia, PA, resides in Los Angeles, CA) recent ...

Corrupt Infernos – Abir Abdullah

Bangladesh – The Alexia Foundation has announced that the winner of the 2013 Alexia Professional Grant: Abir Abdullah. The Alexia ...

Enfant Terrible – Antoine D’Agata

THIS STORY CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT France – French photographer Antoine D’agata’s work is dark, introspective and shockingly bold. A photographer ...

Joan Fontcuberta: The Photography of Nature / The Nature of Photography

Catalan photographer Joan Fontcuberta is the 33rd recipient of the prestigious HasselbladFoundation International Award in Photography. To celebrate the award ...

You Get Me – Mahtab Hussain

England – You Get Me is a series that has taken four years to complete and addresses the changing identity ...

Poulomi Basu: “A Ritual of Exile” – Exposing Women Condition in Nepal

Nepal –  “It’s dark, and there is no light. I feel so scared someone might come.” Radha is only 16 ...

Patrick Willocq: I am Walé Respect Me

France – Through this project, I aim to create an artistic and documentary photography, very close to the daily experience ...

Mark Power: Die Mauer ist Weg!

Germany –  By a series of fortunate events, Photography feature – Mark Power was present at the fall of the Berlin ...

Yoshinori Mizutani: Tokyo Parrots

Japan –   When I saw the hordes of parrots of several hundred birds, I was very scared, it was like, I ...