The Building House

One Hundred Years after the Bauhaus settled in Dessau, the school is once again having to face up to the extreme far-right as it continues to grow in the heart of Europe.

In 1933, the Bauhaus, famed for its radical, modernist approach to art and design, was hounded out of Dessau by the newly established National Socialist Government. The school was labelled "degenerate' by the new government and attacked for its left-leaning faculty and students. After refusing to comply with the demands of the Nazi Party, the Bauhaus chose to close its doors for good. Whilst those who could afford it emigrated, many went into hiding or were forced into collaboration to survive in the years following Germany's political crisis. Tragically, several Bauhausler who could not escape and chose resistance were murdered by the Nazis.

Now, in 2026, in a troubling pseudo-re-enactment, the Bauhaus again finds itself caught in a reanimated "culture war" about German identity and intensifying polarisation across the country. As the school seeks to celebrate its 100th anniversary in Dessau, members of the far-right AFD party have begun blaming the Bauhaus for the region's decline. AFD member, Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, has called for a rejection of the Bauhaus, claiming it to be infused with communist ideology. In response to the centennial, the AFD have called for a "re-examination" of the Bauhaus legacy to be debated in the regional parliament.

With the AFD’s popularity exploding across eastern Germany and the possibility of the extreme far-right again being responsible for cultural policy in Germany, this project seeks to stand in solidarity with the Bauhaus and its ideas. Engaging with Bauhaus aesthetics, history and ideas, the photographs document the growing political polarisation in Germany, whilst costumed self-portraits look to embody echoes of those who once called the Bauhaus home.