Michael Schmidt, Ein-Heit, 2022

Michael Schmidt is one of Germany’s most famous post-war photographers. In his out-of-print artist’s book Ein-heit, he traces the universal iconography of political systems and the images of humankind they project. Addressing the complex relationship between the individual and the state, he asks how we can resist the loss of individuality inherent in systems of mass control. In his uncompromising view of reality, Michael Schmidt mixes photographs of already published photographs with those of his own making to the point where reality and imagination merge, creating a densely woven structure of associations and emotions. The second, actual edition of this artist’s book meets the first edition from 1996.