BOOK:Achim Lippoth-Storytelling,Hatje Cantz Publications

In the Western culture childhood is synonymous with innocence and autonomy, freedom and timelessness. The book “Storytelling” by Hatje Cantz Publications is the catalogue of Achim Lippoth’s  recent solo exhibition  (19/3-11/6/17) at Bayer Erholungshaus in Leverkuse,  which represents very diverse facets of childhood, from spontenaeity to melancholy. It is remarkable that Achim Lippoth has dedicated himself to such a theme for decades. It is even more remarkable that the photographer has been publishing his own internationally distributed magazine, kid’s wear Magazine, for more than 20 years. The magazine serves as a platform for his work and -because he has invited renowned artists such as Nan Goldin, Martin Parr, Jitka Hanzlová and Bruce Gilden to submit multipage editorials — at the same time as a forum for contemporary photography of children in general. Lippoth’s photographic series in turn are not inspired by fashion and the zeitgeist, but instead have features of a reportage, even when the context in which the editorials are produced is different. When taken together, we encounter in Storytelling an autonomous narrative chronicle of childhood in the twenty-first century.–Efi Michalarou