DANNER, Michael - Critical Mass

Background information

"In his series 'Critical Mass', German photographer Michael DANNER documents the architecture, everyday life and safety systems of all seventeen German nuclear power plants, the Asse II repository and the Gorleben exploratory mine. Great hopes and deep skepticism have accompanied the use of nuclear power up to the present. In the spirit of optimism of the 1950s, everything seemed possible, people participated in the economic upswing and found nuclear energy to be a fascinating technology. The optimism of the boom years gave way to mistrust in the 1980s, which was given a real basis with the reactor accident in Chernobyl. Activism against nuclear power shaped the political consciousness of an entire generation. The catastrophe in Fukushima in 2011 heralded a turning point for the time being - the medium-term phase-out of nuclear energy seems to have been decided. However, the question of the final storage of radioactive waste remains unresolved.

Content

The photographs of Michael DANNER in the photo volume 'Critical Mass' give a rare insight into the interior of the power plants and show normally inaccessible areas. His series is intertwined with historical pictorial documents from the planning and construction phases of the power plants, making the social conflict visually tangible. The layout of the book and the openwork cover refer to the overlapping of the present and the past and the confrontation between nuclear power plant opponents and state power." (© Kehrer Verlag, 2013)

Additional information

The photo volume 'Critical Mass' by Michael DANNER is designed by renowned Dutch book designer Sybren ('SYB') KUIPER.

About the German photographer, Michael DANNER (b.1967, in Reutlingen)

Photo books by Michael DANNER