Rainbow Robot Space Ice captured through the lens of Jan von Holleben

The German photographer worked with hundreds of children to create an amazing community art project focusing on the Earth’s resources, turning their ideas into a series of astounding images.

With a camera in everyone’s pocket these days, we don’t always appreciate the value of photography anymore. But the German photographer Jan von Holleben sees things differently. Over the last 25 years, he has been physically building vast compositions out of people and everyday objects and capturing them through the lens of his Leica. This spring, he’s taken on his biggest project yet – realising the visions of 489 schoolchildren from the Zingst area in northern Germany.

Rainbow Robot Space Ice is Jan’s contribution to the Horizonte Zingst photography festival. The event will see 23 gigantic and stunning photos exhibited on the beach with the waves of the Baltic as their backdrop. This year’s festival focuses on the theme of resources, and Jan followed a fascinating process to create the imagery.

“First, I prepared a short questionnaire about resources, which was distributed to 489 elementary school children in and around Zingst. I wanted to know what they had plenty of, what they had too little of, and what they wanted to be invented for the future. The answers, in writing and as sketches, turned out to be super creative, critical and wholesome,” says Jan.

Bringing together the children’s ideas, Jan identified certain themes such as environmental issues, world peace, friends, science, having fun, and more. He accumulated the various things the children suggested as he planned the series of works, though in a few cases, he identified single ideas that directly translated into photos.

“An eight-year-old called Ali had sketched up some rocket-powered boots. The idea was simple yet so clear,” says Jan. “When it came time to do the shoot, I invited Ali to come, asked him for more details and if he would model with his legs. Ali was an equal partner and art director for the image.”

At his Berlin studio, Jan and his assistant Anna Schäflein loaded props into a van and set off for Zingst, where the children were invited to join them. Like Ali, they became part of the compositions and brought more props, such as the dozens of digital and analogue clocks in the Once Upon a Time Transporter image.

“I have a lot in common with children when it comes to problem-solving,” explains Jan. “We do it through play. We also share a similar unlimited and uncompromising energy. By teaming up with so many creative minds, you can multiply the outcome. It was like a gang of racing car drivers all going in the same direction – a truly amazing experience.”

Over a week, Jan and Anna rode on a wave of energy. It was late nights, early mornings, rushed meals, and a huge amount of time spent arranging and adjusting the kids and the props around them, then climbing the stepladder to shoot the scenes using a Leica SL3 with Elinchrom flashes.

In the Hyper Sprocket Rocket image, the children expressed their ideas about travelling in outer space, and Jan made it happen before their eyes. The Once Upon a Time Transporter features kids in costumes from different periods they wanted to travel to. Meanwhile, Rapid Research Lab recycled old pipes from a nearby public water park.

“Projects like this mean a lot to me,” says Jan. “The energy and outcome are unmatched and seeing the work as an exhibition is immense. The entire beach will be taken up, and next to it is a Photo Fun Park I’ve created. I’d love to do more projects like this in different cultural environments – one or two a year.”

The beach exhibition at Horizonte Zingst begins on 23 May. From 3 to 15 June, Rainbow Robot Space Ice will be on display at the F3 photography space in Berlin. The work is also the subject of a documentary film.