Blaffert & Wamhof: JHQ Rheindahlen

»JHQ. Blaffert & Wamhof« shows the photographic documentary of the withdrawal of British troops from Rheindahlen (NRW). The closing of the headquarters of Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) of NATO, and the Headquarters of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) is here symptomatic of a development increasingly gaining in actuality. The presentation focuses on the people who lived here, and influenced the developments on the surroundings. Deserted sites, which emerged in the process of dissolution, testify to a past era and its history. The acquired photographs here show themselves as documentary of the history of both sides – the headquarters, as well as the surroundings, which have accompanied the situation over 50 years.

The photographers’ intentions are to sensitize viewers to the events. Here, the social transformations should not be interpreted as archaeological retrospective of a »ghost-town-like« historical environment: they should far rather be pursued with artistic insight. Here, the photographs of Blaffert & Wamhof are linked to the tradition or political documentaries.