HEIRLOOMS
After my grandparents passed away, their former home became just an empty shell of their former life, filled with their possessions. The process of clearing it out has dragged on for over ten years due to indecision about what to do with the property. I grew up right next door, so I was able to watch it deteriorate. When a house is left to its own devices for so long, with no human intervention, it develops its own narratives. The objects that have lasted generations rearrange themselves, and the materials begin to become one again. The series was created shortly before the demolition. Today, the property is no longer owned by my family.
Location
Aumühle
Year
2018
HEIRLOOMS
After my grandparents passed away, their former home became just an empty shell of their former life, filled with their possessions. The process of clearing it out has dragged on for over ten years due to indecision about what to do with the property. I grew up right next door, so I was able to watch it deteriorate. When a house is left to its own devices for so long, with no human intervention, it develops its own narratives. The objects that have lasted generations rearrange themselves, and the materials begin to become one again. The series was created shortly before the demolition. Today, the property is no longer owned by my family.
Location
Aumühle
Year
2018
HEIRLOOMS
After my grandparents passed away, their former home became just an empty shell of their former life, filled with their possessions. The process of clearing it out has dragged on for over ten years due to indecision about what to do with the property. I grew up right next door, so I was able to watch it deteriorate. When a house is left to its own devices for so long, with no human intervention, it develops its own narratives. The objects that have lasted generations rearrange themselves, and the materials begin to become one again. The series was created shortly before the demolition. Today, the property is no longer owned by my family.
Location
Aumühle
Year
2018
Sarah Grethe (b. 1997 in Hamburg, Germany)
The focus of my work is on the dependence of the past on the present in the context of my personal environment and domestic space. I am particularly concerned with the perception of change and the correlation between time and memory.
Education
2023 – 2024
Graphic Arts, Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Budapest, HU
since 2022
Communication Design M.A., Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften, Hamburg, DE
2018 – 2021
Photography B.A., University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Hamburg, DE
Awards / Mentions
2024
Futures Portfolio Review, Freundeskreis der Photographie
Paris Photo Carte Blanche, Finalist
2023
Paris Photo Carte Blanche, Finalist
2022
Format Festival, Longlist
Emergentes Portfolio Review, Encontros da Imagem
GUP Magazine Fresh Eyes Talents
Futures Portfolio Review, Freundeskreis der Photographie
Athens Photo Festival, Shortlist
Deutscher Jugendfotopreis, Laureate
Belfast Photo Festival, Highly Commended
Sony World Photography Awards, Professional Creative, 3rd Place
2021
Urbanautica Institute Awards, Special Mention
Vonovia Award für Fotografie, Best Young Talent
Exhibitions
2024
Annual Exhibition, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften, Hamburg, DE
Heimat – was ist das? (Duo), Forum für Zeitgenössische Fotografie, Dresden, DE
2023
Annual Exhibition, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften, Hamburg, DE
Young Format, QUAD, Derby, GB
Motiva – the ambiguity of belonging, Stadtbierhalle, Biberach an der Riß, DE
Professional Dreaming, Frappant Galerie, Hamburg, DE
2022
Sony World Photography Awards, Willy-Brandt-Haus, Berlin, DE
Fresh Eyes Talents, Haute Photographie, Amsterdam, NL
Sony World Photography Awards, Fotofestival Lenzburg, Lenzburg, CH
Zuhause No. 5, Sprengel Museum, Hannover, DE
WE_LOVE, Forum für Zeitgenössische Fotografie, Dresden, DE
WE_LOVE, Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Cologne, DE
The Human Blueprint, Rotterdam Photo Festival, Rotterdam, NL
Sony World Photography Awards, Somerset House, London, GB
Zuhause No. 5, Landesvertretung Niedersachsen, Berlin, DE
2021
Pola Pola, Kunstraum Oberfett, Hamburg, DE
Connecting Worlds, University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Hamburg, DE
2019
Rich & Richer?!, Altonale, Platz der Republik, Hamburg, DE
Ferðaþjónusta – Ísland: Human Traces in Landscapes, Altonaer Museum, Hamburg, DE
2018
Tabula Rasa, Kunstraum Oberfett, Hamburg, DE
Forms of Being Human, Kunstraum Oberfett, Hamburg, DE
Publications
2025
Fotobus Society further 05, Publication
2022
GUP Magazine Fresh Eyes Talents, Publication
WE_LOVE, Deutscher Jugendfotopreis, Catalogue
Sony World Photography Awards, Catalogue
2019
Ferðaþjónusta – Ísland: Human Traces in Landscapes, Catalogue
Features
2023
British Journal of Photography, Article (Digital)
ABK Stuttgart Matratze Magazine, Issue 5 (Print)
Belfast Photo Festival, Instagram Residency (Digital)
2022
rûm Magazine, Issue °V (Print)
PhMuseum, Story of the Week (Digital)
CHIP Foto Video, Interview (Print)
kwerfeldein, Reportage (Digital)
Vaihinger Kreiszeitung, Article (Print)
Stuttgarter Zeitung, Article (Print)
2021
ZEIT Weltkunst, Vonovia Award Special (Print)
Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung, Article (Print)
Talks
2022
Fotografie im Kontext: Preisträgerinnen des Vonovia Award, Kunstmuseum Bochum, DE