Top Image: Wim Wenders, ‘Drive-in at night’, Montréal, Canada, 2013. Image courtesy the artist and BlainSouthern

German film Director Wim Wenders is set to display his first photography exhibition in his hometown of Berlin in over half a decade. Titled Time Capsules. By the side of the road, the retrospective brings together the auteur’s images of Germany and America – the two countries that have most influenced the artist throughout his career.

The exhibition’s title, Time Capsules, alludes to the eternal relationship between photography and memory, the way a photograph can store a fleeting moment in time, they echo with history, capturing the past and preserving it for the future. As in his films, in which a journey is often at the heart of the matter, place plays a central role in his photography, this exhibition brings together images of Germany and America – the two countries that have most influenced the artist throughout his career.

Above image: Wim Wenders, Cisco Post Office 2003, 2015, Courtesy the artist and BlainSouthern

People are noticeably absent from most his photos, creating an eerie aesthetic, yet one which is somewhat calm and tranquil in the face of abandonment. Through his films Wenders’ acute eye for photography is evident, the cinematic shots that span sparse deserts (Paris, Texas) or form a bleak cityscape (Wings of Desire) all guide the viewer towards a feeling and atmosphere that Wenders wishes to create in the subconscious.

Time Capsules. By the side of the road runs at Blain|Southern Berlin from 17 September – 14 November