Sarah Hernandez-Bedford Joins RANKIN CREATIVE as Head of Production.
An avid swimmer, the photographer started the No Running series as a way of demonstrating the varied beauty and historical significance of such vital public spaces.
15 September 2022
As a city, Berlin is well known for many things: its infamous nightlight scene, its galleries, museums and its welcoming community feel for starters. What it may not be popularly known for, however, is its swimming pools. But when photographer Pia Henkel first moved to Berlin, she found herself having to move around – a lot. She's also a big swimmer, so in the process of getting to know so many different districts, Pia also found herself becoming acquainted with a number of the city’s 62 swimming pools.
What later compelled Pia to begin documenting the pools was a sign that caught her attention. “I was standing in my favourite pool in Berlin Mitte for the first time and I was immediately overwhelmed by the hall,” she details. “At the same time I saw several signs saying ‘photography prohibited’, which for me – as a photographer – was a direct trigger point.” The series also began as a means for Pia to expand her repertoire and practice. While working more conceptually before the No Running series, and mainly with people in front of the lens, she found herself seeking something new photographically; people became the pools.
When she was younger, Pia initially found herself attracted to photography mostly through boredom. “I grew up in Germany in the middle of nowhere with almost no infrastructure and always working parents,” she explains. It was when she stumbled across family photographs in her grandma’s attic that she first recalls her interest piquing; the look and feel of the images have stayed with her, and now shape her personal aesthetic. After discovering the internet and sites like Tumblr and Flickr, Pia then put all her energy into studying photography at university in Dortmund which she then later attended. “I always say that’s when I started living and creating,” she adds.
As a city, Berlin is well known for many things: its infamous nightlight scene, its galleries, museums and its welcoming community feel for starters. What it may not be popularly known for, however, is its swimming pools. But when photographer Pia Henkel first moved to Berlin, she found herself having to move around – a lot. She's also a big swimmer, so in the process of getting to know so many different districts, Pia also found herself becoming acquainted with a number of the city’s 62 swimming pools.
What later compelled Pia to begin documenting the pools was a sign that caught her attention. “I was standing in my favourite pool in Berlin Mitte for the first time and I was immediately overwhelmed by the hall,” she details. “At the same time I saw several signs saying ‘photography prohibited’, which for me – as a photographer – was a direct trigger point.” The series also began as a means for Pia to expand her repertoire and practice. While working more conceptually before the No Running series, and mainly with people in front of the lens, she found herself seeking something new photographically; people became the pools.
When she was younger, Pia initially found herself attracted to photography mostly through boredom. “I grew up in Germany in the middle of nowhere with almost no infrastructure and always working parents,” she explains. It was when she stumbled across family photographs in her grandma’s attic that she first recalls her interest piquing; the look and feel of the images have stayed with her, and now shape her personal aesthetic. After discovering the internet and sites like Tumblr and Flickr, Pia then put all her energy into studying photography at university in Dortmund which she then later attended. “I always say that’s when I started living and creating,” she adds.
“We were going to have to actually write jokes that functioned as jokes without a prop in every single instance.”
Baker Terry
As a city, Berlin is well known for many things: its infamous nightlight scene, its galleries, museums and its welcoming community feel for starters. What it may not be popularly known for, however, is its swimming pools. But when photographer Pia Henkel first moved to Berlin, she found herself having to move around – a lot. She's also a big swimmer, so in the process of getting to know so many different districts, Pia also found herself becoming acquainted with a number of the city’s 62 swimming pools.
What later compelled Pia to begin documenting the pools was a sign that caught her attention. “I was standing in my favourite pool in Berlin Mitte for the first time and I was immediately overwhelmed by the hall,” she details. “At the same time I saw several signs saying ‘photography prohibited’, which for me – as a photographer – was a direct trigger point.” The series also began as a means for Pia to expand her repertoire and practice. While working more conceptually before the No Running series, and mainly with people in front of the lens, she found herself seeking something new photographically; people became the pools.
When she was younger, Pia initially found herself attracted to photography mostly through boredom. “I grew up in Germany in the middle of nowhere with almost no infrastructure and always working parents,” she explains. It was when she stumbled across family photographs in her grandma’s attic that she first recalls her interest piquing; the look and feel of the images have stayed with her, and now shape her personal aesthetic. After discovering the internet and sites like Tumblr and Flickr, Pia then put all her energy into studying photography at university in Dortmund which she then later attended. “I always say that’s when I started living and creating,” she adds.
“We were going to have to actually write jokes that functioned as jokes without a prop in every single instance.”
Baker Terry
Further Info
www.channel4.com/programmes/dont-hug-me-im-scared
www.blinkindustries.tv
About the Author
Liz (she/they) joined It’s Nice That as news writer in December 2021. After graduating in Film from The University of Bristol, she worked freelance, writing for independent publications such as Little White Lies, INDIE magazine and design studio Evermade.
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