Jan Schoelzel works as a freelance art photographer and is thrilled with the fact that the European XFEL facility is hardly recognizable on the surface. The supermarket, school, skyscrapers and sports facilities do not reveal the high technology, which is only 6 to 38 meters underground. The X-ray laser light is used to photograph bacteria or viruses. Scientists can use these results to develop new therapies.
This inspired Jan Schölzel to his series "Free Electrons", which shows the strong contrast between everyday life and one of the most modern research institutions worldwide. At the top there is a researcher in a cleanroom suit in the wide landscape above the facility. Below, the components and equipment of the facility are shown.
The circle closes when the bacteria or viruses are photographed in the European XFEL, and scientists may use the findings to develop new therapies for sick people.
