Labyrinth

Catania, Sicily, July 2023.

“Das Leben ist ein Labyrinth. Manche irren darin bis zu ihrem Ende herum und suchen nach einem Ausweg. Dabei gibt es nur einen Weg und der führt immer tiefer hinein. Erst wenn man die Mitte erreicht hat, wird man verstehen. Der Tod ist etwas Unbegreifliches, aber man kann sich mit ihm vesröhnen. Bis dahin solltest du Dich jeden Tag fragen, ob du die richtige Entscheidung getroffen hast.”
— Jonas Kahnwald

Life is a labyrinth. Some wander around until their death in search of a way out of it. But there is only one path, and it leads ever deeper inside. Only when one reaches the center will one understand. Death is incomprehensible, but one can reconcile oneself with it. Until then, you should ask yourself each day if you’ve made the right decisions.

Love

Kaesong, North Korea, June 2018.

“The young couple would walk through the night, scattering ginkgo leaves in their wake. What did they talk about? Their families, their classmates, books they had read - whatever the topic, it was endlessly fascinating. Years later, when I asked the girl about the happiest memories of her life, she told me of those nights.

This is not the sort of thing that shows up in satellite photographs. Whether in CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, or in the East Asian studies department of a university, people usually analyze North Korea from afar. They don’t stop to think that in the middle of this black hole, in this bleak, dark country where millions have died of starvation, there is also love.”
— Nothing to Envy

Normal

Berlin, Germany, June 2022.

“Her eyes fill up with tears again and she closes them. Even in memory, she will find this moment unbearably intense, and she’s aware of this now, while it’s happening. She has never believed herself fit to be loved by any person. But now she has a new life, of which this is the first moment, and even after many years have passed she will still think: Yes, that was it, the beginning of my life.”
— Marianne, Normal People

Free

Ravello, Amalfi Coast, Italy, September 2021.

“In your place, if there is pain, nurse it. And if there is a flame, don’t snuff it out. Don’t be brutal with it. We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster, that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to make yourself feel nothing so as not to feel anything - what a waste.”
— Mr. Perlman

Heart

Castelnau-De-Montmiral, France, August 2019.

Castelnau-De-Montmiral, France, August 2019.

“In ten years time, I want to live in a house with big windows. I want the house to be large enough to have a kitchen table with four chairs but not too roomy to ever feel the depth of my aloneness. Because I’ll probably be alone.

But I think aloneness won’t feel so all-consuming with windows that protect me from the world but still let me watch it.”
— Maeve Wiley