Projekt "Perspektive(n) Mensch"

Three years ago X and I met for the first time. He is friend Tina’s oldest brother. When we met, we were at the theatre together: X, Tina, her parents and me. X is sitting next to me and before the play starts, we talk. At some point X takes a small digital camera out of his jacket and snaps a photo of the curtain, which is still closed. I knew from his sister Tina that he likes to take photos. I ask him which motifs he likes best. On the small display of the camera he shows me the pictures he has taken. What is stuck in my memory: photos of washbasins, from different angles and perspectives. I couldn’t get it out of my head for a long time and I often thought about it: What do people actually take pictures of when you hand them a camera? What do they find worth capturing, exciting, beautiful, interesting? These questions stayed in the back of my mind and are a big part of the reason why this project exists. When I started working on the project, I knew I wanted to ask X if he wants to participate. So on a Sunday I sit at the table in his parents‘ house with him, my friend Tina and the parents. On Saturdays or Sundays – one day at the weekend – he is here for a weekly visit. We eat together, chat. „So, Nina, now tell me,“ he says to me at some point. His parents and sister have already told him about the project. I explain a little more and ask him if he wants to join in. He wants to and I show him the camera, a waterproof one – „X has taken a camera into the shower before,“ his mother explained to me beforehand. X looks at the camera, looks through the viewfinder, takes a first snapshot. I stay for a bit, we go for a walk together and X takes a few photos.

In the evening, his father drives him back to the group home where he lives. X’s parents decided in advance that the camera should stay in his parents‘ house. It would be too difficult concerning data protection if he were to take photos of fellow residents or staff in the facility.

So a few weeks later I’m back at X’s parents‘ house. It is Wednesday. On Wednesdays, X, his sister Tina and their father always go out together, to listen to some jazz. Since the pandemic, the jazz evening has been moved to the private living room. While X’s father is making gin and tonics for us, X is already taking the pictures out of the photo bag.

„Look, I made this, it was here. “ – „Is that out of the window? „, I ask and point to the living room window. „Yes, that was here. „

The next picture shows his sister Tina sitting on the couch opposite of him. Also visible: X’s feet. „Yes, my stockings. These. “ He turns the photos over, the next picture features me. „That’s you too. Do you remember?“ Tina is walking into the living room, sees the photos and exclaims joyfully, „Oh, here we go!“ – „Yeah, nice, eh?“, asks X.

The next picture shows X behind a pile of branches. „Oh yes, gardening, that’s right. I used to do that with my father. Gardening.“ X’s father comes into the living room and hands out the glasses of gin and tonic, one without alcohol for X. „Thank you.“ We toast. „Gardening, with my father. Remember gardening?“ he asks his dad.

He shows me the next picture. The living room is in front of him, light floods in through the window. „That’s my mother, that was here. Do you remember her?“ I answer in the affirmative: „It’s beautiful!“ – „Yes, I think it’s beautiful too.“

We quickly get through the pile. „I didn’t take that many pictures,“ X says. Unfortunately, not all of them were developed, some were too dark. „What other pictures should I take?“, X looks at me. „Are you wondering what is going to happen next?“, Tina asks him. „Yes exactly, that’s what I mean.“ – „Do you want to take more pictures then?“, I ask. „Yes, may I?“

Taking photos with the disposable camera was not easy for him; turning the little wheel before taking the photos was too difficult, he explains to me. I make a mental note to look for an alternative for him when I get home, and he changes the subject. Tina was in Berlin with a friend the weekend before. X asks how it was, what she experienced. „Dinner was great in Berlin?“ Tina thinks about it and tells him what she ate. „Yummy! Currywurst with chips, okay,“ X replies. He quickly changes the subject again. „Sometimes I used to pick up my mother with Tina, from the gym.“ – „We often do that on Wednesdays, don’t we? Then we pick mum up from her sports class, right?“ – „Yes, yes, that’s right.“

„The jazz sessions will start again soon, did I hear?“ I ask X. „Oh yes, that’s it,“ he answers, lost in thought. „X, did you hear what Nina said?“ asks Tina. „No, what?“ – „Do you want to listen again?“ she asks her brother. „Soon you’ll be going to the jazz sessions again, won’t you?“, I repeat. „Oh, right! After the Easter holidays, just in time.“

We talk about the holiday they are about to go on together, to a place on the North Sea where they have been going together as a family for years. „When I’m on holiday, I’ll have a room to myself.“ – „You all have a room to yourselves?“, I ask. „Yeah, right. No, Tina?“ – „And what can you see when you look out of your room?“ she asks him. „Exactly, in my room I always look at the tower, the tower with the hat.“ – „The tower with the hat,“ Tina laughs. „It’s like the landmark of the place,“ X’s father explains. „But only we call it that,“ Tina says with a laugh.

X likes to talk about holidays he has taken with his family. He already shared some stories with me at our last meeting. „I went with my parents once to … yes … um,“ he ponders. „Greece! Yes, Greece. I was in Greece once.“ – „And how was that?“ – „It was nice there, in Greece. Dinner was nice too. Sometimes there was meat, and noodles. Sometimes French fries. I had a bathroom there, too, all to myself, shower and all that. We went to Greece once, didn’t we?“ he asks his father. „Yes, you’re showing off again,“ his father laughs. „We were in Greece. We went to Greece a second time last year because of you.” – „I had a funny coffee there once, it was funny.“ – „Yes, it was bad,“ says his father with a laugh. „But besides that it was nice, wasn’t it?“ – „Yes, it was nice. And you’re going on holiday soon too?“, X asks me and tries to include me in the conversation. I tell him about my next holiday plans before we move on to the next topic. „I still have my room here,“ X tells me. On Saturdays or Sundays, his dad picks him up from his group home, they go swimming together and then have coffee here at his parents‘ house. “X is a really good swimmer,” his dad tells me. „Yes, I am,“ X nods proudly. „You too?“ he asks me.

„Well, I also have a love, her name is Heike,“ X continues. I have already heard a lot about Heike. „You live together too, don’t you?“ I ask. „No no, but yes yes. I live upstairs. But Heike lives downstairs. “ I ask X how many people live with him in the group home. „Oh, we’re only eight, eight people.“ – „And Heike is in another group, right?“ – „That’s right, she lives downstairs.“ – „And you told me before that you became a couple at the carnival, right?“ – „That’s right, that’s it.“ – „I think that’s where a lot of people become a couple, at carnival,“ I say laughing. „Just imagine, X, I also met a girlfriend at carnival once,“ his dad says. „Yeah, you too, yeah!“ – „It’s nice that we have this on tape now, Dad,“ Tina says, and we laugh out loud.

„I once had a love at school, Steffi. She was also my love once. I also had a Steffi in Velbert once. Yes, yes. A Steffi too.” – “X’s first girlfriends were all called Steffi and he had at least three Steffis in one year,“ his father adds. We laugh. „Yes, yes, me. Do you know them?“ he asks me. „The Steffis? No, I don’t know them.“ – „Oh, okay.“ – „And now Heike?“ I ask. „Exactly!“ – „Yes, now you’re not so flighty anymore, X, now you’re faithful, eh?“ his dad teases him. „Yes. On Friday there is no longer quarantine.“ Right now he’s not allowed to see Heike, because her group is in quarantine. „With the phone this time, we have called.“ – „You called each other?“ asks Tina. „Yes yes, with the phone. She’s fine, yes.“

„She had been here before, too, for my birthday,“ he explains to me now. Heike knows everyone in the family. „And eating pizza was good, no Tina, remember?“ – „Yes, I remember the pizza well too. That’s when you invited us, no?“ – „Yeah, right. Tina too.“ – „Yes, X, you earn your own money, so you can invite us too,“ says his father. „You like inviting people, don’t you?“ asks Tina. „Yes yes, me, exactly.“ Tomorrow X can finally go back to work. The pool test at his workplace was positive; he couldn’t go to work for several days. „Tomorrow I’ll go back to work then.“ – „Nice,“ says Tina. „Exactly, I think it’s nice too,“ nods X. Above all, he is looking forward to seeing his colleagues again. What exactly does he do at work, I ask. „Oh, me? Yes, screws, 26 of them. No, not really, 27 pieces. Screw them on at the top. Exactly, that’s what I do. That’s my job. Turn, turn, turn. That’s what my colleague at work always says to me: Turn, turn, turn. You’re welcome to take a look at my work,“ he offers me.

He talks about his raised bed, where he planted a new plant today. „Soil, with sawdust on top.“ The bed is in his room by the window. „I bought a new watering can once, with my father.“

He jumps to the next topic and tells me that once he was in hospital; he had a hernia. „Did it hurt?“ I ask him. „Nope. Yeah, a little bit. No, Tina, do you remember?“ – „I remember, you were very brave then.“ – “Tina gave me Haribo then,“ he says. Tina beams at her brother from ear to ear. „That’s so touching that you remember something like that!”

X picks up on another topic he loves to talk about: his brother’s child. „Uncle I have become.“ – „Little Lisa, ne?“, I ask. „Right! So small. She’ll be two years old in October.“ – „When it comes to birthdays, X is the grand master. He even beats his mother in this,“ his dad tells me. „I can’t remember birthdays at all, but X remembers them all.“ – „And the recycling centre was nice with you, we went there once.“ – „It’s hard to follow the flight of your thoughts,“ his dad says with a laugh. He’s back to one of the pictures of him helping his dad in the garden. His father cuts branches from the hazelnut bush, X chops them up and puts them in a bag, then they take the branches to the recycling centre.

We hear something in the hallway, X’s mother coming home. „Do you remember my mum?“ He greets his mum. „I also wanted to say something: tomorrow I can go back to work, finally!“ he laughs. He had to wait five days for the result of his PCR test, his mother tells me. „I find it unacceptable that it takes so long. Well, that wouldn’t have happened to any of us, to put it positively,“ she adds. As she takes a quick leave for the bathroom, X turns back to his sister and beams at her. „Tina is finally back. Welcome back here in Germany.“ – „Thank you. But I was really only in Berlin for a weekend,“ she laughs. „But I always thought of you,“ he says. „Did you?“ – „Yes.“ – „I’m glad.“ – „You Aunt Tina.“ – „You Uncle X.“ – „Thank you. Yes, I am, yes.“ – „Proud uncle!“ They both grin at each other. „For Christmas Lisa got a rocking horse – no, Tina? Remember?“ Now X talks about the Christmas presents he got. „Tina gave me a cinema voucher.“ The two of them went to the cinema the other day. They also went out for ice cream afterwards. „No, Tina? Do you remember? – „I remember exactly. Do you remember what kind of ice cream?“ – „Oh, yes! Yes, I remember. Spaghetti ice cream. It was good. Delicious. And you,“ he turns to me and includes me in the conversation as usual, „have you ever had ice cream?“