/imagine family snaps

taking a deep dive into my mothers childhood through my eyes. Searching for my answer to questions family is often afraid to ask.

Was können generierte Fotografien abbilden was mit herkömmlicher Fotografie nicht möglich ist? KI als gestalterisches Forschungsmedium zu nutzen war der Ausgangspunkt dieser Arbeit.
Ausgegangen war ich von der Familiengeschichte meiner Mutter, die trotz der schauerhaften Erinnerungen aus ihrer Kindheit auf jedem Foto strahlt und es bis heute tut.  Diese Bewunderung meinerseits mischt sich mit einem großen Unbehagen, was steckt da in mir? Dieser Frage wollte ich auf den Grund gehen und führte Interviews, reiste nach Dortmund, besuchte Orte aus der Kindheit meiner Mutter, fotografierte – und kombinierte diese Fotografien mit KI-generierten Bildern, die auf unseren Gesprächen und Erzählungen basierten.   
What can generated photographs depict that is not possible with conventional photography? Using AI as a creative research medium was the starting point for this work.
I started from my mother's family history, which, despite the gruesome memories from her childhood, shines in every photograph and still does today.  This admiration on my part is mixed with a great sense of unease: what is there in me? I wanted to get to the bottom of this question and conducted interviews, traveled to Dortmund, visited places from my mother's childhood, took photographs - and combined these photographs with AI-generated images based on our conversations and stories.

Eigene Darstellung (2023) Meine Großmutter schlafend in Glaswolle. Prompt: my mother lies sleeping in glass wool, 40 years old::2 , shocked and afraid, mother had disappeared, lies in room of unrenovated apartment in glass wool, documentary photography, photorealistic photography, --style raw --ar 3:2

Eigene Darstellung (2023) Kind stürzte in Kloake. Propmpt: sewage plant, stream to sewage plant, children standing at the edge, small dirty stream, a girl has fallen in and is screaming, children standing around are panicked and disgusted, girl has toilet paper in her hair, dortmund, 70s, west germany, blurred, kodak --ar 3:2 --v 6.0

Eigene Darstellung (2023) Meine Mutter mit ihren gelben Gummistiefeln. Prompt: 2 years old girl with yellow rubber boots fighting with other children, backyard, dortmund, west germany, 70s, kodak --ar 3:2 --v 5.0

Eigene Darstellung (2025) Kinder säubern Friedhof. Prompt: 9 year old children cleaning uo neglected graves, graveyard, west germany, dortmund, 70s, analog photography, blurred --ar 3:2 

Eigene Darstellung (2025) Kinder säubern Friedhof. Prompt: 9 year old children cleaning up neglected graves, graveyard, west germany, dortmund, 70s, analog photography, blurred --ar 3:2

Eigene Darstellung (2025). Familienschnappschuss Familienzusammenkunft[KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt:”Polaroid photo of a blonde girl with her family at the dinner table, in an old house in Poland. The people appear to be in their 70s, elderly women. The image was taken with an 8mm lens, with polarized and low-light settings, using 35mm film photography. A polarizing filter was used, with a solid color background. The image features a 24-year-old woman with long, blonde hair sitting next to older men with grey hair. “
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Familienschnappschuss Familienzusammenkunft[KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt:”Polaroid photo of a blonde girl with her family at the dinner table, in an old house in Poland. The people appear to be in their 70s, elderly women. The image was taken with an 8mm lens, with polarized and low-light settings, using 35mm film photography. A polarizing filter was used, with a solid color background. The image features a 24-year-old woman with long, blonde hair sitting next to older men with grey hair. “
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Familienschnappschuss Familienzusammenkunft[KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt: “A grainy, low-quality photo taken with an old disposable camera shows the family sitting around the living room table for dinner. A blonde teenager in a blue dress and her pregnant mother are seated at the table. In the background, the grandmother is seated in a sofa chair, and the grandfather is holding a cup of tea.”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Familienschnappschuss Familienzusammenkunft[KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt: “A grainy, low-quality photo taken with an old disposable camera shows the family sitting around the living room table for dinner. A blonde teenager in a blue dress and her pregnant mother are seated at the table. In the background, the grandmother is seated in a sofa chair, and the grandfather is holding a cup of tea.”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Familienschnappschuss, schwangeres Kind [KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt:”A photograph of an polish family gathering in the late 1970s, featuring a young pregnant woman with long blonde hair wearing blue slacks and a white top, sitting on a sofa next to a dining table full of food, with older people standing around her and talking. The image is photorealistic and shot from behind the subject, taken with a film camera.”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Familienschnappschuss, schwangeres Kind [KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt:”A photograph of an polish family gathering in the late 1970s, featuring a young pregnant woman with long blonde hair wearing blue slacks and a white top, sitting on a sofa next to a dining table full of food, with older people standing around her and talking. The image is photorealistic and shot from behind the subject, taken with a film camera.”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Mama verprügelt einen Jungen[KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt:”A furious 3-year-old dark blonde girl aggressively pushing the head of an older boy into the sand on, she is wearing yellow rubber boots, boy is much bigger, pushing head in sand ::2”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Mama verprügelt einen Jungen[KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt:”A furious 3-year-old dark blonde girl aggressively pushing the head of an older boy into the sand on, she is wearing yellow rubber boots, boy is much bigger, pushing head in sand ::2”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Familienschnappschuss, 1975 [KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt: „family snapshot, small apartment in a high-rise housing estate, kitchen and living room are one room, simple furnishings, 70s, a woman with blond tousled hair stands in the kitchen leaning against the counter and looks seriously into the camera, a 9 year old girl and a 35 year old man are sitting at the table, the man wears a moustache, no smile, an open shirt and a gold chain, the girl looks frightened into the camera, she has brown hair, on the table are sodas and empty glasses and a board game, snapshot, flash, blurry, man does not look in the camera but at his cigarette:.2, they look distant, no posed photo”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Familienschnappschuss, 1975 [KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt: „family snapshot, small apartment in a high-rise housing estate, kitchen and living room are one room, simple furnishings, 70s, a woman with blond tousled hair stands in the kitchen leaning against the counter and looks seriously into the camera, a 9 year old girl and a 35 year old man are sitting at the table, the man wears a moustache, no smile, an open shirt and a gold chain, the girl looks frightened into the camera, she has brown hair, on the table are sodas and empty glasses and a board game, snapshot, flash, blurry, man does not look in the camera but at his cigarette:.2, they look distant, no posed photo”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). “Luzie” [KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt: “70s, dortmund, in front of a high-rise housing estate, flash photo, snapshot, automatic analog camera, woman with brown blow out hair in airm, she is wearing flower dress, she isnt smiling”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). “Luzie” [KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt: “70s, dortmund, in front of a high-rise housing estate, flash photo, snapshot, automatic analog camera, woman with brown blow out hair in airm, she is wearing flower dress, she isnt smiling”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Familienschnappschuss[KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt:”woman on the picture in small kitchen, she is looking inside the camera, three children sitting at table looking at their food, pocket camera, 70s, west germany, dortmund”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Familienschnappschuss[KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt:”woman on the picture in small kitchen, she is looking inside the camera, three children sitting at table looking at their food, pocket camera, 70s, west germany, dortmund”
Eigene Darstellung (2025) Veronika und Jakub. Prompt: black and white photograph of two very skinny people in love. a woman and a man in a labor camp, wearing labor clothes, they afamily photo of three girls (4,6,8), one with horn-rimmed glasses, two with long blonde hair and round face, both resemble each other, two like twins, the oldest is dark-haired and has a narrow face, narrow nose and looks different, oldest looks different, she looks like a strange child, analog, 70s, west germany, dortmund, white background, only onw of the blonde girls is smiling,re standing next to each other, in the background are baraks
Eigene Darstellung (2025) Veronika und Jakub. Prompt: black and white photograph of two very skinny people in love. a woman and a man in a labor camp, wearing labor clothes, they afamily photo of three girls (4,6,8), one with horn-rimmed glasses, two with long blonde hair and round face, both resemble each other, two like twins, the oldest is dark-haired and has a narrow face, narrow nose and looks different, oldest looks different, she looks like a strange child, analog, 70s, west germany, dortmund, white background, only onw of the blonde girls is smiling,re standing next to each other, in the background are baraks
Eigene Darstellung (2025). “Onkel Richard” vor seinem Mercedes [KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. “Prompt no posed photo, slim tall man in front of a white mercedes from the 70s, pimp, 70s, dortmund, in front of a high-rise housing estate, flash photo, snapshot, automatic analog camera”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). “Onkel Richard” vor seinem Mercedes [KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. “Prompt no posed photo, slim tall man in front of a white mercedes from the 70s, pimp, 70s, dortmund, in front of a high-rise housing estate, flash photo, snapshot, automatic analog camera”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Meine Mutter als kleines Mädchen mit Migräne [KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt:”10 year old girl with long blonde hair, holding her head in pain because she is having a migraine, painful, crying, she had cried, walked through the rain, read college jacket, jeans, white sneakers with two blue stripes, standing in door entrance of her home, small 1970s West German plattenbau , old analog photography, snapshot with flash, slightly blurry”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Meine Mutter als kleines Mädchen mit Migräne [KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt:”10 year old girl with long blonde hair, holding her head in pain because she is having a migraine, painful, crying, she had cried, walked through the rain, read college jacket, jeans, white sneakers with two blue stripes, standing in door entrance of her home, small 1970s West German plattenbau , old analog photography, snapshot with flash, slightly blurry”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Meine Mutter mit ihren Schwestern. prompt: family photo of three girls (4,6,8), one with horn-rimmed glasses, two with long blonde hair and round face, both resemble each other, two like twins, the oldest is dark-haired and has a narrow face, narrow nose and looks different, oldest looks different, she looks like a strange child, analog, 70s, west germany, dortmund, white background, only onw of the blonde girls is smiling,
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Meine Mutter mit ihren Schwestern. prompt: family photo of three girls (4,6,8), one with horn-rimmed glasses, two with long blonde hair and round face, both resemble each other, two like twins, the oldest is dark-haired and has a narrow face, narrow nose and looks different, oldest looks different, she looks like a strange child, analog, 70s, west germany, dortmund, white background, only onw of the blonde girls is smiling,
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Familienschnappschuss Wohnzimmer, schwangeres Mädchen mit Familie[KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt: “In a small living room of a 70s high-rise building in West Germany, 15 year old woman with long blond hair is heavily pregnant, she is not smiling, several old Polish men and women are sitting at the living room table Snapshot, coffe and lots of cake, flash, slightly blurred”
Eigene Darstellung (2025). Familienschnappschuss Wohnzimmer, schwangeres Mädchen mit Familie[KI-generiertes Bild]. Erstellt mit Midjourney. Prompt: “In a small living room of a 70s high-rise building in West Germany, 15 year old woman with long blond hair is heavily pregnant, she is not smiling, several old Polish men and women are sitting at the living room table Snapshot, coffe and lots of cake, flash, slightly blurred”
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