MAXIMILIAN GOTTWALD
cotd - city of the dead

my photo series “city of the dead” shows cemeteries that rise like quiet islands in the middle of japan's urban landscape - surrounded by high-rise buildings, traffic and the dynamics of city life. taken at dusk and at night, the photographs capture these special places where past and present, tradition and modernity, life and death meet in an impressive way. the series provides an insight into a japan that is characterized by contrasts and by the attempt to combine them. the cemeteries appear like oases of peace, embedded in an environment that never stands still. it is precisely this contrast that is touching: a special tension arises between the silence of the world of the dead and the incessant pulse of urban life. with this series, i would like to invite you to pause for a moment. it is intended to make the complexity of urban spaces visible and to raise questions about memory, time and change.

Author
maximilian gottwald, born in munich in 1980, studied photo design at the munich university of applied sciences (formerly fachakademie für fotodesign) and, due to his passion for the built environment, focused on architectural photography early on in his studies.
"photography enables me to express my own view of things.
through it i can preserve transient moments and create surreal worlds"
maximilian's work often focuses on travel and documentary photography. he is particularly interested in the sometimes surreal-looking cityscapes and impressions of asian cities. the impressive interaction of natural light and artificial light in twilight and night shots are an essential part of his long-term project "asian dusk - the empire of light" about urban landscapes in twilight. here he deals with urban landscapes and their change due to rapid economic, political and demographic growth.

Website
www.maximilian-gottwald.de

Instagram
@gottwaldmaximilian

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