Hidden Heroes

From 1 to 31 March 2025 the photographer Nietze showed her project “Hidden Heroes” in the gallery. Her photographs depict how people experience endometriosis and adenomyosis. The Endometriose-Vereinigung Deutschland, the German endometriosis association, also invited people to the opening on 1 March.

“Hidden Heroes” is a documentary photography project that grew out of personal experience: in 2022 Nietze herself was diagnosed with endometriosis. Since then she has photographed more than 70 people – up close, honestly and mostly in black and white; many portraits are accompanied by interviews or the sitters’ own texts. Professional perspectives from gynaecology, sex therapy, physiotherapy and nutritional medicine complement the project.

“I photograph people who aren’t seen in our system – and give them a platform to show themselves, let go of their pain and open up,” says Nietze. She was born in Berlin in 1988, lives in Leipzig and has worked as a documentary photographer since 2019; her first photo book, “Kein Halt mehr” (2021), shows Berlin’s cultural scene at a standstill during the pandemic. After the gallery, “Hidden Heroes” was shown in Leipzig in 2026, at Garage Ost. More at dnietze.com.