Born in Germany in 1980 and based in France, Henrike Stahl works in sectors ranging from fashion to the press. She first made a name for herself with a magnificent photo series about a young rider from the “93,” her district’s nickname, traveling through the town of Montreuil wearing a motorcycle helmet (Mon roi, ma reine, 2019). This image broke with the stereotypes so often associated with this Parisian suburb.
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The photographer has turned the margins and the in-betweens into a language. She is German, and for a long time shifted back and forth from Paris to Berlin, refusing to call a single place home. She adopts an insolent perspective, both raw and delicate, when observing territories and identities in transition. For her, photography is a way of creating a dialogue, of building bridges between worlds that periphery and prejudice tend to keep apart. It is a way of bringing people together, breaking down walls, and paving new paths of thought.