Klaus Mettig: Don’t Be Left Behind

German photographer Klaus Mettig–who was born in Brandenburg in 1950–has traveled continually since 1973, making photographs that convey an indeterminate sense of time, place and culture. Portraits of people, landscapes and cityscapes tell a story, but one that is difficult to pin down. “Trust You Equal Love (Lions)” (2004), is a black-and-white portrait of two men walking down an anonymous urban street in front of a giant skull graffitied on a wall. It is uncertain if the subject of the photograph is the people or the background. Mettig also often collaborates with his longtime partner, Katharina Sieverding. “Motorkamera I-VIII” (1973-74), consists of 386 black-and-white photo-booth images of the couple in drag, with Mettig becoming progressively femme and Sieverding progressively butch. In Don’t Be Left Behind, Mettig continues in this vein, exploring several Asian cities through panoramas and portraits. The volume includes essays by writer Ingrid Holzl and curator Frank Wagner.