Andreas Herzau (1962–2024)

We mourn the passing of photographer Andreas Herzau, who died on February 6, 2024 at the age of 61.

As a photojournalist, Andreas Herzau felt obligated to make, what he saw, visible to the world in a new way. He was particularly committed to free and objective reporting. Herzau began his career, initially focused on writing, with an apprenticeship as a typesetter. He then worked as a trainee at the magazine Konkret and as an editor at the Hamburger Rundschau before making a successful transition to photography in the early 1990s. In 1991, he co-founded the photo agency SIGNUM FOTOGRAFIE in Hamburg with like-minded colleagues. As part of this collaboration, he traveled extensively, including to Africa, to report on the crises and wars there that continue to be the root causes of displacement and forced migration.

As a freelance photographer, he maintained his focus on socio-political injustices, exposing existing problems even within his own Western world. His photographs always brought him close to his subjects, often dynamically cropping them into the frame. For example, he photographed the Love Parade in Berlin (1999), New York before and after 9/11 (2000-2002), and created a subjective inventory of life in Germany 15 years after reunification (2006).

The quality of his photographic work is evident in the subjectively authentic portrayal of entire cities and countries. Andreas Herzau was able to reflect the mood of a society. For him, photography was a form of research and engagement. Through his photographs, he explored underlying conflicts and simultaneously pointed to their potential consequences. This commitment was recognized with numerous awards, most recently the prize for best political photography of 2017.

Andreas Herzau was also a co-founder and board member of the laif cooperative of photographers. Given his theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of photography, he was also highly regarded as a university lecturer.

With his passing, he leaves behind an extensive photographic oeuvre, distinguished by its authenticity and historical significance. The F.C. Gundlach Foundation has now taken on the important task of preserving and maintaining Andreas Herzau's complex body of work. We bid farewell to a great photographer and a longtime friend.