Herr der Dinge / Master of Things

From 2019, I photographed a series of unusual collections and the individuals behind them – people whose collecting motivations may seem bizarre or obsessive at first glance. Through the project Master of Things, I shift the viewer's focus to the objects themselves: items that often appear strange, worthless, or even grotesque. But through the eyes of their collectors, they become familiar, beautiful, and full of meaning.

This photo series explores the emotional and historical value of objects declared useless by society. Whether it's hair, gallstones, or old bricks – each item tells a story, and each collector becomes as much a subject of fascination as their treasures.

Among them: – Regine von Chossy from Munich, who runs a private hair museum with signed hair donations, driven by a lifelong hair fetish. – Photographer Karl-Ludwig Lange, who collects stamped bricks as clues to Berlin's hidden histories. – Navena Widulin, a Berlin-based taxidermist, who collects gallstones as part of a medical-historical tradition.

Collecting is a deeply human act – one rooted in survival, knowledge, and emotional memory. In today’s world, where data is collected to generate profit, Master of Things turns the gaze to those who preserve the "useless": physical traces of individual obsessions and passions. These collections reflect not only their owners, but our shared human need to find meaning in matter.

Book with 144 pages, Softcover
Artist Edition of 100
118 pictures
220 x 325 cm
Selfpublished
Design by Miriam Waszelewski & Maj Mlakar www.mosk.co
45 €