"Often I just sat there, listened and drank," says Antonia Zennaro about the times where her sensitive and touching images were captured at the legendary Reeperbahn. The starting point was the “Silbersack,” a traditional Kiez bar in Hamburg where some St. Paulians from an earlier era mingled with young Kiez visitors. The time it took the photographer was worthwhile: she shot portraits which captured the soul of each person and brought forth their true, unadorned humanity.

 

For the first time in Berlin, a selection of these photographs will be on display at Silber&Salz gallery. You’ll be able to see sailors, dancers, janitors-  behind the facades of the people from the legendary strip. “My journey into the past was never easy. The heavy doors, stale smoke, the silence that struck me, the dim light.  Shared loneliness…The beautiful stories were few and far between. The sad, painful ones silently rest in these pitch black souls, between the lines and in the eyes, as soon as the flash disappeared. “I have seen many hidden tears.” Zennaro wrote in her book, “Reeperbahn.”

 

The beautiful stories were told quickly. The sad, painful ones lie in the stillness of these often deep black souls, between the lines and in the eyes, as soon as the flash of lightning has disappeared. I have seen many hidden tears. "Zennaro wrote in her book" Reeperbahn."

  

Antonia Zennaro was born in Hamburg in 1980, but was raised in South Tyrol, Italy. She was educated at Instituto Superior die Fotografia, Rome and Danish School of Journalism, Aarhus, Denmark. From early on, she focused on social reporting and long-term documentary projects. She currently lives and works in Bogotá, Colombia.