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Times of Upheaval. Photographs 2014 – 2025
Times of Upheaval. Photographs 2014 – 2025
Johanna Maria Fritz
May 5, 2025
From the series Like a Bird: Majed Kallub poses on stilts in front of the Gaza Circus School in the Betlaahya district of Gaza City, 2016. A pickup truck loaded with Hamas fighters drives past behind him. © Johanna-Maria Fritz / Ostkreuz
Johanna-Maria Fritz bears witness to conflicts and war, crumbling governments, and minorities that are the target of persecution. This exhibition provides insight into the expansive oeuvre of the 30-year-old photographer, who is based in Berlin.
The majority of Fritz’s images are captured in war-torn regions and crisis zones. She looks to the margins of society – but also right to its core: children, teenagers, and especially women are frequently at the centre of her work, as she searches for everyday stories amidst the unrest and highlights a society’s contradictions. In many cases, she dedicates herself to her chosen themes over long periods of time – returning to the same places, revisiting stories and documenting how they have evolved.
Born 1994 in Baden-Baden, Germany, Fritz moved to Berlin in 2011, where she is a member of the independent OSTKREUZ photo agency. Since graduating from the Ostkreuz School of Photography in 2016 she has received numerous awards, including the Inge Morath Award (2017), the German Peace Prize for Photography (2019) and a World Press Photo Award (2024). Johanna-Maria Fritz is represented by the ARTCO Gallery.
Katrin UllmannThe majority of Fritz’s images are captured in war-torn regions and crisis zones. She looks to the margins of society – but also right to its core: children, teenagers, and especially women are frequently at the centre of her work, as she searches for everyday stories amidst the unrest and highlights a society’s contradictions. In many cases, she dedicates herself to her chosen themes over long periods of time – returning to the same places, revisiting stories and documenting how they have evolved.
Born 1994 in Baden-Baden, Germany, Fritz moved to Berlin in 2011, where she is a member of the independent OSTKREUZ photo agency. Since graduating from the Ostkreuz School of Photography in 2016 she has received numerous awards, including the Inge Morath Award (2017), the German Peace Prize for Photography (2019) and a World Press Photo Award (2024). Johanna-Maria Fritz is represented by the ARTCO Gallery.
ALL IMAGES ON THIS PAGE: © Johanna Maria Fritz
LFI 8/2021+-
In this issue, you can read the story Chermalyk by Johanna-Maria Fritz about a small Greek minority in eastern Ukraine. More
Johanna Maria Fritz+-
Officially speaking, Johanna-Maria Fritz lives in Berlin. However, in reality she trav-els most of the year. She studied Photography at the Ostkreuzschule in Berlin and since 2019 is a member of the agency bearing the same name. Her work has been published in Spiegel, der Zeit and National Geographic, among others. She has earned a number of recognitions, including the Inge Morath Prize and the VG-Bild grant. More
From the series Like a Bird: Majed Kallub poses on stilts in front of the Gaza Circus School in the Betlaahya district of Gaza City, 2016. A pickup truck loaded with Hamas fighters drives past behind him. © Johanna-Maria Fritz / Ostkreuz
From the series Like a Bird: Members of the girls' team of the Mobile Mini Circus for Children (MMCC) rehearse before performing in a park in Kabul, 2016. The children's circus was founded in Afghanistan in 2002 and still exists today, albeit with fewer performances © Johanna-Maria Fritz / Ostkreuz
From the series The Flood: A flooded front garden on the island of Korabel in the Kherson region, June 2023. © Johanna-Maria Fritz / Ostkreuz
From the series Daughters of Magic: The burning of brooms is an integral part of many witchcraft rituals in Romania (Mogoșoaia, 2019) © Johanna-Maria Fritz / Ostkreuz