Fotograf Zone – Yana Wernicke

Die Verwandlung, ongoing project

In her project Die Verwandlung, German photographer Yana Wernicke documents an intergenerational tradition that is still alive in some parts of Germany today. Every year, groups of men transform themselves into so-called "wild men" – figures dressed in leaves, branches, straw, and other natural materials.

The making of costumes is a collective activity. Men gather to help each other cover their bodies with layers of greenery. This activity has an almost intimate character: it requires patience, closeness, and care, which at first glance are associated more with femininity. In the context of a male community, this performative practice takes on a special tension when masculinity is revealed through delicate manual work, touch, and cooperation.

The tradition has a distinctly intergenerational dimension. Older men pass on their experience to younger men, and at the same time they enter into a ritual that is not just a folkloric attraction. The project emphasizes that a mask or disguise is not just an aesthetic element but an instrument of transformation. It allows men to temporarily step out of their usual social roles and become beings that are both human and natural, fragile and terrifying. Wernicke thus raises broader question about the relationship between tradition and the present, as well as gender stereotypes and the possibilities of transcending them.

Die Verwandlung, in the context of the Metamorphosis exhibition, emphasizes that transformation is not just a metaphor, but a real physical and collective process in which culture, nature, and social relations intertwine.

Co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union, FUTURES is a platform to increase the capacity, mobility and visibility of it's selected artists and to bridge the gap between emerging and established artists.

METAMORPHOSIS
October 4–12, 2025
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Venue · Holešovice Market, Hall 13
Bubenské nábř. 306, 170 00, Prague 7 Holešovice
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Opening Hours · 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

Yana Wernicke

is a German photographer and visual artist based near Frankfurt am Main. Her work focuses on human relationships with animals and the natural world, exploring interspecies communication and intimacy.

#49 Talk Together

This issue explores language – its forms, possibilities, and limits. We look at how we communicate in the digital space, how the language of artificial intelligence changes our notions of creativity, and how visual images can replace words. You will discover why language is never neutral and how it shapes identity, creates inequalities, and opens paths to liberation. The issue features a reflection by bell hooks, the artistic practice of Eszter Magyar, projects documenting the Roma community in Brno, and visual essays by Claudia Larcher and Tabor Robak. The magazine presents language as a tool of communication, power, and resistance and invites you to reflect on what it truly means to talk to one another today.