Photographer Maria Semmer is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this photo essay. From the project ‘The Transition’. To see Maria’s body of work, click on any photograph.

The setting for this series is an old, abandoned tavern that occupies the site next to an ancient church and was once the heart of the village. The house has been abandoned for years and is gradually falling apart.

Dwelling in this old house full of history releases visions and awakens in me a longing to immerse myself into its history and to live it. The rooms of the house symbolize different places inside myself. Places of light and shadow. Doors open and invite you to explore these places. Doors to memories, to dreams, to visions, to the true Self.

I created art inside this house as it was slowly falling apart. It continuously changed through my installations and through time. Parts of the ceiling fell down; moss grew on the walls… The decay of this house together with my installations symbolize a transition: the old can go and something new can emerge.

Artist statement 

I look for places that inspire me and invite me to dream. I love lonely places like forests, old, abandoned houses, meadows and lakes. Here I enjoy myself by creating my own world which dissolves the boundaries between real life and the otherworldly or dreamlike. I often capture images and scenes out of my dreams and transform them into parts of my work to tell open stories without a precise ending. 

Biography 

Maria Semmer was born in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. She studied Graphic Design and Photography in Nuremberg, Berlin, and St. Petersburg. After completing her studies she lived in Rome, Italy for several years, where she intensified her artistic work in the field of fine art photography. Maria Semmer has a focus on dreams, intermediate worlds and the relationship with nature. These themes are expressed in her works which have been exhibited in galleries and museums and have been featured in art magazines, catalogues and photo books. Currently Maria Semmer lives and works around Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany.

All images and text © Maria Semmer