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One task that photography accomplishes is the documentation of past and present history. Photographs are contemporary witnesses of events and can become important for us humans in many respects while we look at history in retrospect and learn for the future.

Photographer Philipp Funke is an architect himself and is passionate about socially critical topics. In 2022, for example, he created a series on social housing in New York in which it was important to Philipp Funke to tell the story of the buildings and depict the architecture in his style.

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We had the chance to sit down with Philipp Funke and talk about his new book project.

How did it happen, that you as a German/Swiss architect and photographer could get into Enver Hoxha’s Vila?

The dictatorship of Enver Hoxha led the country into diplomatic and economic isolation during his reign (1945–1985), resulting in a continuous process of impoverishment. Hoxha himself lived with his family in a secluded area of Tirana, called the "blloku." The borders of this area were constantly monitored. Only the political elite, invited individuals, and the secret service had access. After the regime’s fall and the opening of the country, the blloku became a popular and lively nightlife district. All areas are now accessible to the public. Hoxha’s villa was the only exception for a long time. Edi Rama, the Albanian prime minister, wanted to avoid turning the building into a pilgrimage site. Representative rooms on the ground floor were only used for state events. Entrance to the villa was therefore restricted to a few people and had the potential to offer an almost unaltered insight into the life of the dictator’s family, even 30 years after his downfall.

It took almost one year to get access to the villa and when I had the opportunity to photograph and interpret the more than 4,000 m² building in November 2019, I saw it as a chance to make a little-accessible area of communist architecture beyond the known and visible accessible to many. From an architectural and artistic perspective, the viewer is given the chance to "enter" a place from the past and the taboo zone of a dictatorship.

How did you feel working at this historical place?

I tried my best to educate myself in the history of Albania before my stay here. It is an oppressive feeling to be in a villa that once belonged to a dictator and which is almost in its original state.

If you look at my pictures, you can see that the villa was simply furnished, compared to e.g. the residencies of Tito in Yugoslavia. There were no golden taps and elaborate decorations.
“It still smelled of power and domination” and I have captured this impression in my photographs through composition and perspective.

Why ALPA?

The ALPA camera forces me to think more. Before I set up the camera, I think about how I want my picture to look and feel later on.
The image is first created in my head and after that I choose the lens, decide where to set up the camera and which image composition is appropriate.

I think about what I need to place in the frame in order to show what I want to express.

Who did support you?

First of all it was my husband who was in touch with those in charge of Vila 31. Without this help it would have been impossible to get in.

During my research for the book, I came across historian and Albania expert Christiane Jaenicke, who supported me in many ways.

The images are accompanied by well-researched texts from herproviding the necessary historical and societal context and explanation. Although the photographs were created with artistic intent, they gain additional documentary character. Due to the significant changes in the house during the renovation, the book has already become a document of Albanian history.

What exhibitions are planned?

The first exhibition took place as a group exhibition at the Stephan Witschi gallery in Zurich in 2020. But I only showed on large scale print there.

The first solo exhibition will now take place as part of the EMOP Berlin – European Month of Photography in a pop up gallery, Käthe-Niederkirchner-Straße 34, 10407 Berlin
6. - 29. March 2025
Fridays 15 - 19 h, Saturday 12- 18 h
Vernissage: 6. March 2025 from 18 h

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About Philipp Funke

Masters degree in architecture from the University of Arts Berlin

Bachelor of visual communication – photography at the School of Design Zürich

Member:

• Swiss Professional Photographers and Film Creators SIYU
• Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA)
• Architektenkammer Berlin

Lecturing experiences at universities and artschools

Lecturer at Swiss Photo Club

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