Lara Wilde’s series deals with the fading of optimism. It’s a search for the absurd hidden within bleakness—for a sense of better times, perhaps unfolding somewhere in a parallel world. Her staged long exposures lead us into a universe of their own, shaped by intricate, overlapping relationships. The series frames its theme through the metaphor of a party that has long since passed its peak—stalled at its lowest point, suspended in time.

“This work expresses my sense that, for us as a society, the best days might already be behind us. It’s a poetic reflection on a quiet, persistent melancholy that seems to keep us apart from those we’d otherwise feel close to. When politics feel uncertain, the planet keeps warming, and isolation spreads like a new epidemic, hope becomes harder to find. Beauty is often hidden behind a curtain of sadness—and yet, we still need to seek it out. Because in the intricate stories that slowly unfold, something stirs: a fragile encounter that gently breaks through the darkness and holds the possibility of a new beginning,” says the artist.

_____

Lara Wilde is a photographer and psychologist based in Berlin. In her staged, conceptual series, she explores the depths of human experience and emotion. Since 2017, her work has been shown internationally, including at Somerset House in London, Officine Fotografiche Milano, Kunstmuseum Bochum, and Kommunale Galerie Berlin. She has received numerous accolades, including the title of ND People Photographer of the Year and the Vonovia Award for Photography, and was shortlisted for both the Sony World Photography Awards and the Zeiss Photography Award.