Unterwald is a small village surrounded by forests on the border with the Czech Republic, a village marked by four decades of the Iron Curtain. In a process lasting three years the young Austrian photographer Helmut Steinecker returned as often as possible to his home town to compile a photographic essay about it. Steinecker intersperses his blend of socio-documentary and conceptual approaches with several topic areas such as the landscape, inhabitants, professions, leisure activities and architecture of the border town. His close personal ties with the inhabitants and the location allowed him to capture intimate moments and, at the same time, to factual and poetic representations in and around Unterwald. With restrained objectivity, insightful observations and subtle humour he invites viewers of his photographs to embark on a journey through the border town and to experience it for themselves.

Helmut Steinecker, *1980 in Unterwald, Austria. Lives and works in Upper Austria.
Thomas Ballhausen, *1975 in Vienna, Austria. Lives and works in Vienna.