Chasper Senn

Notes of the Unknown

Until mid-June, I will create the material for this project and I will handle this page like a blog, meaning that the most recent material will be on top. Notes of the Unknown is an independent project, for which the funds come out of my own pocket. You can support me with a donation following the link of the button bellow. Every amount is appreciated.

Every photograph on this page can be purchased as a signed print in maximal 8.3" x 11" for 150,00 USD (plus shipping), once I have returned to the U.S. in July. If you are interested in purchasing a print, please contact me directly. Your purchase as well as your donation supports the continuation and completion of this project.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any idea or collaboration.

Thinking of the war in Ukraine, to capture the external and internal environment of the country seems appropriate. War involves everyone, be it involuntary or voluntary. The gulf between the two camps of the Cold War reveals a dizzying abyss and could soon turn into another world war. Perhaps history is going to repeat itself, only under the shadow of a finely spun global economy. The people in the seats of power appear incapable of communication and to find a peaceful solution.

With this project I ask humanity if one can find trust in her. I want to clarify that the war is waged and sustained by the very hands of human beings, who are at the same time lamenting the atrocities of the war waged. There ought to be found another solucion than arming the Ukranian people to counter the Russian attacks. The world entangles itself in a senseless war, which only plays into the hands of the most powerful actors, confusing the well-being of the group of the ultra-rich individuals with that of the people.

I seek the narrative of a road movie, representing the journey, the movement, following a traveler's logic. In this way I can include myself, as the narrator and I can visualize the short distance between my home in southern Germany and the crisis in Ukraine. I'm going to try to move with people or just go where the people I meet go. When I find a character I will switch from myself as the narrator to the person.

Berlin, Germany. May 2022.

It feels like traveling back in time to me, being in Berlin and see my life here with a seven year distance. There´s no better way to understand myself than to meet beloved friends and reflect on old times. Tomorrow night I plan to take a bus from Berlin to Przemysl, Poland.
Berlin, Germany. May 27, 2022.

Berlin, Germany. May 2022.

The registration center for Ukrainian refugees is in the former vaccination center, at the airport Tegel in Berlin. Here every individual has to register if social aid is needed. Berlin, Germany. May 2022.

Berlin, Germany. May 2022.

The child, her mother and grandmother on the way to the registration center, at the airport Tegel in Berlin, Germany. May 2022.

The mother has to take care of the registration process and that the family receives proper support from the government. Berlin, Germany. May 2022.

Mother and daughter on a playground in Neukölln, Berlin. They fled from Kiev, Ukraine, leaving behind a condominium, and a dog and a cat. Berlin, Germany. May 2022.

A girl is playing on a playground in Neukölln, Berlin. She fled from Kiev, Ukraine, with her mother and grandmother, about two months ago. Berlin, Germany. May 2022.

In many ways walking through the Holocaust Memorial equates to how refugees may feel, disoriented and lost, when they run away from violence at their home. Berlin, Germany. May 2022.

My friend at his apartment. Berlin, Germany. May 2022.

At the apartment where my friend hosts two people, who evacuated from Ukraine, live in his apartment. Berlin, Germany. May 2022.

People on a night bus from Munich to Berlin. Germany. May 2022.

People say goodbye at a bus station. Bavaria, Germany. May 2022.

My mother is reading the news. Bavaria, Germany. 15 May 2022.

Yesterday I left from my mother´s house in Bavaria for Berlin to meet an old friend, who is living with two refugees from Ukraine. One is from the Donbass region and the other from Odessa. Both of them arrived one week ago. Tomorrow, I will show the woman from Odessa, Sasha, the Holocaust Memorial at the Brandenburger Tor.
Berlin, Germany. May 16, 2022.