Sven Fennema

Sven Fennema, born in Xanten in 1981, lives and works in Krefeld. He has photographed abandoned places across Europe since 2008 and has worked as an independent artist since 2010. He finds his subjects away from the known routes: villas and palaces, churches and theatres, factories, sanatoriums and gardens that have lost their people and where time carries on without an audience.

Fennema tells the stories of these places without giving them away. What draws him is the in-between world of yesterday and today, the moment when a room has lost its purpose but kept its dignity. The pictures show decay not as loss but as transformation: light on faded plaster, green growing through windows, a silence in which the presence of people can still be felt.

Every picture grows out of an encounter with the place, its mood and its history. From that impression the idea for the image takes shape long before the camera is set up. Fennema works only with the light he finds, without flash or artificial light, mostly with long exposures from a tripod. Nothing is staged; the place is meant to reach the picture as intact as possible. Whatever atmosphere the pictures hold was in that room on that day.

His work has appeared in seven photo books, most recently with Frederking & Thaler, has been shown in solo and group exhibitions and has been featured by media such as Der Spiegel, stern, DIE WELT, GEO and ZDF. Selected motifs are available as editions from LUMAS.

Frequently asked questions

Where are the pictures taken?

On journeys across Europe and beyond. Most often they take me to Italy and the United Kingdom, frequently also to Portugal, Spain, Romania or Georgia. Each country has facets of its own: its history, its architecture, its landscapes. Long research comes before every journey, most places are settled in advance, and yet there are always remarkable chance finds. The work pages name the country and, where it makes sense, the region.

Do you reveal the addresses of the places?

As a rule, no. Researching and tracking down the places is a large part of my work, and countless hours go into preparing every trip. Some places I do name, or I give hints that matter for the story. For most, though, the exact address stays hidden, because I want to protect the buildings from vandalism and from everything else that harms them.

How are the pictures made?

With the light I find, from a tripod, and with plenty of time. What matters to me is capturing the atmosphere of a place the way I experience it there. So I plan for particular light and think long about the effect of a picture before I take it. Light and mood on site count for more than anything that follows. In editing I intervene as little as possible and only as much as needed for the picture to convey the atmosphere I felt. I never alter the perspective, and I never composite: what a picture shows was there, in that place, just like that.

Do you use AI in your pictures?

Not generative AI. It matters to me to show the reality of a place and its actual mood, so a deep intervention in the picture is out of the question for me. I do use today's tools where they are needed, for instance to remove rubbish or a graffiti. I never have image content generated: nothing in my pictures is invented or assembled from different places.

What do you photograph with?

Mostly with a digital medium-format camera, with prime lenses and special shift lenses for architecture. Almost every picture is taken from a tripod: I work with long exposures and often take several exposures of a scene, and many places are so dark that shooting handheld is out of the question. These days I also enjoy photographing from the air. The drone opens up an entirely new view of buildings and scenes.

Can the works be bought?

Yes. Every work is available in several finishes and sizes, as a fine art print, framed, on canvas or aluminium Dibond, and in larger sizes as a limited, signed edition. Enquiries start from the picture itself: via the basket icon in the gallery or the form on the work page.

How large are the works printed?

Many pictures gain intensity the larger they are printed. I prefer sizes from 120 cm on the long edge, and gladly 180 cm, always in keeping with the room. The image quality allows for considerably more: some editions have been printed at up to 2.40 m.

Where can the works be seen in the original?

In my studio in Krefeld, where a small permanent display is always on view; write to me if you would like to come by. My pictures also hang in the LUMAS galleries in Germany and in other countries. Add to that exhibitions for a limited time; where and when is listed under Exhibitions on this site.

Can I license a picture for a publication?

Yes, we settle that individually. Send your request through the form on the work in question and choose the licensing enquiry there. Use, medium, print run and term are then discussed in person. The principles are set out on the page Image rights and licences.