Sabrina Rothe: Gärten – Vom Festhalten der Zeit. Capturing time

The garden as a symbol of human transience—and as a place of infinite beauty. In “Gardens,” Sabrina Rothe documents four extraordinary sites: the Fuchsgrube in Mühlheim an der Ruhr, Deichmann’s Aue in Bonn, HORTVS in Hilden, and the Arboretum Park Härle.

Unlike architecture, gardens are subject to nature—to constant change. Without the loving hand of the gardener, every composition would disappear, overgrown, wild, forgotten. Rothe understands this fragility as the true poetry of the garden. Her camera captures what will be different tomorrow: the light of a particular afternoon, the shadow of a tree, the random harmony between cultivated plants and wild growth. In doing so, the photographer develops her own visual language that goes far beyond mere documentation.

Rothe’s photographs are artistic interpretations of an already designed nature – they show not only what these gardens look like, but also how they feel. Gardens is a plea for the conscious perception of the fleeting. Rothe’s photographs not only preserve visual impressions, but also conserve time itself. A book for everyone who understands that beauty and transience are inextricably linked.

156 pages, hardcover, German, Wienand Verlag, 2025