The long-term Federal project began in 2009 and presents portraits of current and former prime ministers. Götz Schleser’s impressive work reveals the creative diversity that is possible within the portrait genre.

Photographic portraits are essential for appearance and self-presentation in the world of politics. The protagonists are under constant pressure – their facial expressions, gestures and posture observed: each detail counts. This means that the desire for the perfect picture to suit every occasion is all the greater. Consequently, it is no surprise that most of the images produced are striking, but superficial, rather than real portraits. The Berlin photographer has chosen a different approach: in his long-term project he has used innovative staging and unconventional settings to produce unusual portraits. The series, which he began in 2009 with a picture of the head of the federal state of Thuringia, has turned into a whole gallery of governing and former prime ministers – also mayors, as in the cases of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg.

Taken in black and white or colour, the pictorial designs are always uniquely individual and distanced from superficial sleekness. In some instances, the protagonists are barely visible in unusual settings. Schleser photographs from exciting perspectives, in narrow excerpts, using sharp contours or soft blurring, in either small or large format. What interested the photographer about his subject was the person behind the mask, revealed as authentically as possible, in the decisive moment when the portrait was taken. The surprising diversity of the gallery selection underlines how Schleser’s curiosity and charm incited his protagonists to move freely between pose and personality. His method is to deliberately take those in power out of their accepted rhythm and encourage them to play openly with the camera. Thus, he departs from the usual poster look for his motifs and creates unexpected new perspectives through a photographic dialogue.

The selection on display presents 32 portraits, taken since 2009. They include: Torsten Albig, Kurt Beck, Jens Böhrnsen, Andreas Bovenschulte, Franziska Giffey, Tobias Hans, Reiner Haseloff, Roland Koch, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Winfried Kretschmann, Armin Laschet, Bodo Ramelow, Anke Rehlinger, Boris Rhein, Jürgen Rüttgers, Erwin Sellering, Carsten Sieling, Kai Wegner, Dietmar Woidke, Hendrik Wüst.

Götz Schleser was born in Frankfurt on the Main in 1967. Following his training in photography, he has been working as a freelance photographer in Berlin, since 1998. The emphasis of his work lies in portraiture: countless celebrities, from the worlds of politics, culture and science, have stood in front of his camera for assignments commissioned by magazines, political parties, companies and institutions. Schleser is a member of the BFF (Professional Association of Freelance Photographers and Film Creators). The Federal series was taken in part with the Leica S and Leica SL systems, and the M11 Monochrom.

The Federal exhibition was produced with the friendly support of WhiteWall.

Quote: Götz Schleser:

“It’s always a new challenge for me to adapt to each individual person; to respond to their wishes and to realise the outcome together. This constant challenge is one of the reasons why I enjoy taking portraits so much: getting to know new places and people every day – seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting; often new, and at other times very familiar; and then taking photographs. I love it.”