Simon Menner
Friday, 20 August 2010
Work from Images from the secret STASI archive.
“In a time that is more and more defined by mechanisms of surveillance the “gaze of the Big Brother” seems ever more omnipresent. This brings me to the point to ask myself what it really is that the Big Brother sees. Can the terror such a repressive system spreads be found in these images? Or is the “gaze of evil” pretty banal and we have to attach the terror ourselves?
Mostly the results of surveillance remain hidden. An outstanding exemption is the work of the East German Stasi, which has been made widely accessible after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I believe that these archives can broaden our understanding of the function of surveillance and repression.
Due to the wonderful support by the BStU I was able to perform a very wide research in these Archives and I am able to show some images that present the viewpoint of the oppressor.
My very special thank goes to Mrs. Kühlow and Mrs. Schulenburg of the BStU for their patience and friendliness towards me and my project. Thank you very very much!” – Simon Menner
via A Photo Student.