Bogomir Ecker has been collecting historical photographs for many years with an unconventional, artictic eye: from 19th-century landscapes from all over the world to classic press photography and sensationalist images of the USA in the 20th century. Ecker uses these pictures not only sometimes directly for his own artworks, but also as a source of inspiration for his sculptural work. The focal point of the exhibition in the Kaisersaal at the Museum für Fotografie is therefore a monumental sculpture by Ecker, which will be surrounded by a display of photographs on the subjects of idylls and disasters.

The collection offers a look at images of technology, the experimental apparatus of science, and at idylls of nature, natural disasters, violence and destruction. They present views of the monstrous quality of objects and of urban scenes of danger and subtle menace.

The exhibition builds on the installations by contemporary artists and photographers that were on show in the ruins of the Kaisersaal from 2004 to 2008, and demonstrates the Museum für Fotografie's ongoing interest in current trends and sensibilities in art and photography. A simultaneous exhibition will be held at the Museum für Photographie in Braunschweig.