In the 1970’s Berlin was a mecca for nonconformists and artists. It was an urban oasis for the unconventional that promised unrestricted freedom of development. A city in which the magical promise of transformation has always hung in the air. Zownir’s early photographs of West Berlin, hemmed in by the “death strip”, the inner german border, document the rebellious weltschmerz of punks, the social hopelessness of dropouts, drug addicts, casual labourers or the homeless. On the other hand his newer Photographs depict examples of the “anything goes” lifestyle of the Berlin Clubs, the celebrated body cult of the love parade or of commercial sex events, that again appear to have been born of a seemingly limitless freedom. Something, however, seems to have remained the same: Berlin is still a dream destination for freaks and flamboyant oddballs from around the world. From the very beginning Zownir paid attention to these extraordinary people and their “otherness”. His portraits however are not silent, they are bluntly expressive and emotional. They create a field of energy in which each individual with their own cultivated passions becomes visible, whether they are depicted in everyday situations, states of emergency or simply standing at the abyss.
