Introduction

Since the early 1990s, the number of German companies affected by insolvency and bankruptcy has been rising constantly. In 2005 alone, over 39,000 businesses filed for bankruptcy - an increase of 150% compared to 1993. Small and medium-sized businesses have been most affected by this dramatic development, usually shutting down silently and completely escaping the media's attention.

These still-life photographs of abandoned offices, cleared shelves and empty production halls show the last remaining traces of businesses that flourished until only recently. In this context, a shopping trolley piled full of folders and documents becomes a powerful symbol for bankruptcy and clearance sales. This work focuses on a critical aspect of everyday business life in Germany, one that also manifests itself in rising unemployment rates and thus raises important socio-political questions.