Margit Emmrich – Wohnzimmer
January 24 – February 28, 2026
Wed bis Sat | 12 – 6 PM
Opening: Saturday, January 24, 2026 | 3 – 8 PM
Margit Emmrich’s Wohnzimmer (Living Rooms) is a seminal photographic series capturing individuals in their living rooms in East Germany. Using a large-format camera, Emmrich combines formal precision with intimate observation, portraying sitters who appear composed and natural within richly detailed, densely furnished interiors. Furniture, wallpaper, objects, and photographs are integral to each portrait, revealing social identity, personal taste, and the negotiation of selfhood within private spaces.
In contrast to Christian Borchert, who documented similar interiors in black and white during the 1980s, Emmrich was among the first East German photographers to work extensively with colour. She used it to enhance textures, patterns, and atmospheres, treating colour as both a descriptive and analytical tool. In Wohnzimmer, this use of colour emphasizes the private sphere as a stage for self-expression and careful curation, showing how individuals inhabit and shape their surroundings.
Presented in its entirety at LOOCK Galerie, Wohnzimmer gains significance as a cumulative work: its interiors articulate a shared yet varied domestic culture, revealing how ever yday living spaces functioned as one of the few arenas for individuality, adaptation, and quiet change within East German society. Seen together, the series offers a nuanced portrait of lived experience, highlighting Emmrich’s attentive and precise documentary method.