Small Towns – No Towns?

A square in a small town, almost entirely deserted – and the few people to be seen are either very old, or very young. There are no landmarks or points of interest: just empty storefronts, slow deterioration and, perhaps, a certain melancholic charm. It is the kind of place you only find by chance; a place that makes you wonder: who are those that stay here when I leave – and why? 

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.