Arwed Messmer

Arwed Messmer (born 1964) is a German photographer and artist, based in Berlin. His work primarily uses recontextualised vernacular photographs of recent historical events, found in German state archives, in order to pose questions about photography. He mainly produces books of this work, often with Annett Gröschner on the time of a divided Germany, but also exhibits it. For the latter 10 years he has worked primarily with utilitarian images produced by the state, which he has found in a number of archives. It contains lesser-known photographs

2012: Co-winner with Annett Gröschner, DAM Architectural Book Award, Photobook prize, Editor category, for Berlin, Fruchtstraße

2016: Special Jurors' Mention, PhotoBook of the Year, Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards, Paris, was awarded to Taking Stock of Power: An Other View of the Berlin Wall by Annett Gröschner and Messmer

2018: Shortlisted, Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2019 for the exhibition RAF – No Evidence / Kein Beweis at Zephyr|Raum für Fotografie, Mannheim, 2017. The other shortlistees were Laia Abril, Susan Meiselas, and Mark Ruwedel.