When I was visiting Hamburg for the first time, my friends took me out to Steindamm. The street overwhelmed, irritated and inspired me. Everything exists side by side: Asian restaurants, illegal prostitution, diamond sales, mosques, sex shops, a methadone clinic and smaller shops crowded with products from all over the world. I heard more languages at the same time than anywhere else in Hamburg. Almost every European city has this kind of street.
Three years ago I moved into a house in the middle of Steindamm. Since then, I have been observing life on the street — not only as a private person, but also as a photographer. My main focus lies on the street’s local communities and their uniquely personal styles. The clear visual language of the series is providing a stage for everything that goes unnoticed in chaotic everyday life. I’m closely examining my marginalized neighborhood, capturing the stories of the street through details while celebrating the individual aesthetic choices.
Growing up as a minority in a central Asian multi-ethnic city, I’m driven to loud, bright colors and rich textures. I like to break with the classical idea of aesthetic categories and highlight the mixture of everything that‘s not fitting in with Western society’s beauty standards.
— Alexandra Polina
