Gomma Photography Grant 2025
Winterreise
Photographer
Michele Galassi
Winterreise
14 Feb, 2026
Die Winterreise is an ongoing photographic series set in a men-only shelter in Berlin, where formerly homeless men find rest after lives marked by loneliness and exclusion. Within its walls, survival and vulnerability coexist, and a fragile search for dignity begins.Inspired by Winterreise by Franz Schubert, composed to poems by Wilhelm Müller, the project translates the themes of the Lieder into contemporary narratives of homelessness. In Winterreise, the Wanderer moves through snow and night, burdened by lost love, disillusionment, and solitude, until his journey culminates in the enigmatic figure of the Leiermann. I came to see in this figure a mirror of the homeless: men wandering without destination, searching for shelter, suspended between despair and the faint possibility of renewal.Memories of spring flowers and birdsong flicker in the Wanderer’s mind, only to be overtaken by winter’s cold light. Similarly, within the photographs, fragile signs of life and hope surface briefly—delicate counterpoints to the prevailing atmosphere of solitude and decline.
About the photographer
Michele Galassi
Born in Italy in 1976, Michele Galassi has been based in Berlin since 2011.He trained at ISFCI in Rome, where he quickly developed an interest in reportage photography in its broadest sense. Shortly thereafter, he stepped away from photography for several years, returning to the medium only more recently. In Berlin, he continued his education in commercial photography and media design (2019), followed by film production and directing (2022). These experiences introduced a more cinematic dimension to his work, particularly through the use of off-camera flash and carefully constructed lighting.Galassi’s practice has consistently focused on themes of displacement, resilience, and communities living in fragile contexts. His long-term projects address homelessness, social marginalization, and forms of collective interaction, including inclusive theater initiatives.Following the Covid pandemic, he resumed work on international subjects. In recent years, he has documented refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenia, the 2024 protests in Georgia, and the ongoing war in Ukraine in 2025.His work combines an intimate, personal perspective with a documentary approach in which the human subject remains central. Each project reflects a commitment to portraying both vulnerability and resilience, emphasizing the dignity and strength embedded within fragile circumstances.
