Small Towns – No Towns?
Small Towns – No Towns?
June 19, 2024

Ute and Werner Mahler: from the series Kleinstadt
To this day, the German definition of a small town is a population between 5,000 and 20,000 inhabitants. In their fourth collaborative project – following on from Monalisen der Vorstädte (2010), Wo die Welt zu Ende war (2012), and Seltsame Tage (2014) – Ute and Werner Mahler (both born in 1949) take viewers on an exploration of Germany’s small towns. From 2012 onward, the couple drove across the country in a small car, packed with a large camera and
a supply of black and white films. Their goal: to document the atmosphere, mentality and spirit of these micro-cosmoses.
Their striking images join together to create a kaleidoscope of different locations, from Bad Gandersheim to Lebach and Zörbig – freezing time and poignantly conveying the notion of small-towns in Germany. Their future will be decided in the coming years: if the younger generations leave, their hometowns will eventually disappear.

Ute and Werner Mahler: from the series Kleinstadt

Ute and Werner Mahler: from the series Kleinstadt

Ute and Werner Mahler: from the series Kleinstadt

Ute and Werner Mahler: from the series Kleinstadt

Ute and Werner Mahler: from the series Kleinstadt