Wounded Place

Germany

Two single frames of "wounded place" Wounded Place is a photographic series created in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo – a place where nightlife, commerce, intimacy, and solitude converge in confined space. Through 84 photographs taken in 2023, the series captures the atmosphere of this urban microcosm: narrow interiors, harsh lighting, traces of encounters and bodies – suspended between closeness and distance. Panoramic and macro perspectives alternate, revealing fleeting gestures, surfaces, and fragments. The images feel both spontaneously observed and deliberately composed. Sharp cuts and unusual angles resist linear storytelling, leaving space for open interpretation.

Maik Lagodzki (*1977, GDR) focuses on reportage and streetphotography. His work blends documentary and experimental approaches. In addition to long-term personal projects, he produces commercial work in portrait, campaign, and editorial reportage formats. Project-related travels to Asia and the United States have pro- foundly shaped his perspective on urban environments, margina- lized communities, and societal dynamics. Since 2015, Tokyo — especially the districts of Shinjuku and Kabukichō — has become a central focus of his photographic practice. In these hyper-dense urban spaces, he explores the tension between intimacy and public visibility. In parallel, he creates thematic reportages in Eastern Germany, where he documents social ruptures, everyday realities, and biographical traces. Lagodzki’s artistic approach is intuitive and autobiographical—his subjects emerge through encounters, coincidence, and lived experience. His inspiration is drawn from the aesthetics of film noir, the avant-garde and Japanese photography of the 1960s. He works across media, combining photography, video, and mixed-media techniques.