'Tempelhof' – a decommissioned airport, a huge area of fallow land in the middle of the metropolis of Berlin. Three hundred hectares that have lost their purpose and are in search of a new one.
I am enchanted by this magical urban oasis, and I am absolutely compelled to photograph there. I began taking pictures in 2010, directly following the opening of the airfield to the public – and I continued to do so for 10 years. It fascinates me how this unique urban space is transformed and how it is conquered by people.
The essence of my long-term project is shown in my book 'tempelhof. metamorphosis'. It has been published by DISTANZ in June 2020, showing 39 illustrations in colour and black-and-white.
Matthias Harder, curator of the Helmut Newton Foundation, stated: 'In this book we see the essence of her systematic yet subjective survey [..] anna thiele's impressive photography project on Tempelhof ideally symbolises the principle of conversion in Berlin, the radical transformation process of the city that is always becoming and never is [..]'.
― anna thiele
These pictures show an extract from this project.
