This ethnophotography-based project kick-starts a series of exhibitions that show how, as a universal language, pictures have the potential to be an important unifying element in multilingual Europe. This ambitious project harnesses the power of photography as a tool to document current habits and modes of living. Photography serves as a platform for communication and exchange, and this is nowhere more true than in today’s exhibition. Edgar Zippel’s photographs are the result of scores of meetings and discussions with young adults across many European countries.

By creating a portrait of a generation in Europe at the dawn of the 21st century, Zippel has captured on film various senses of identity and moments of self-reflection and stored them in a visual archive for the future that will resonate with time.

The photographer’s primary intent is to use the universal language of pictures to create for the future a comprehensive archive of the present, in the hope that this archive will carefully trace the ruptures and imperceptible changes within the gradual process of European unification.

The exhibition features exactly 100 portraits. In selecting the young participants, the photographer primarily strove to reflect a broad range of social groups, depicted in their respective social environments. Photographic presence, attitude, and a willingness to cooperate naturally also played a role in the selection process. The fascinating spectrum of portraits includes young Europeans from Portugal, Moldova, Italy, Romania, the United Kingdom, Iceland, and Germany. The photographs are accompanied by interviews that help provide deeper insight into the thoughts, wishes, expectations, and fears of young people across Europe.