They are members of the seniors group of the local Evangelical church congregation in Uellendahl-Ostersbaum. For them, the project is about seeing themselves from a different perspective, “beyond standard ideals of beauty like perfection and youth,” parish minister Dr Holger Pyka explained in late summer in an article in the newspaper Westdeutsche Zeitung titled “Old bodies and their beautiful traces of life”. The parish’s website expresses the thought that it is actually these traces of a lived life that make a body truly beautiful. The oldest of the seniors will turn 100 in the coming days.
On Facebook, the theologian outlines how the act of photographing became an expression of the biblical promise for those taking part. Now, a selection of photos in an exhibition in the parish center reflects the seniors’ experiences during the project. Black and white pictures, around which the huge crowd of guests at the vernissage is swarming.