Hometown Journal Portraiture #01

#01 – Leichtigkeit / Ease
44 pages | 49 × 33 cm | Includes 3 posters up to 98 × 66 cm
German & English text
Printed on Salza Eos bluewhite

Jana Gerberding photographs Lucas Krzikalla for the first issue of the Portraiture series—a magazine dedicated to showcasing the work of visual artists in combination with their subjects, giving them a platform to tell their stories through words and imagery.

Heteronormative masculinity is still deeply rooted in professional sports, and homosexuality remains taboo in male team sports. Lucas broke this taboo. With his public coming out, he became the first openly gay active professional athlete in German team sports—a step that made him visible, but also vulnerable.

How do you capture this moment photographically? How do you show a person whose body is trained for performance and strength, but who also carries an inner vulnerability?

This portrait series deliberately avoids staging and instead focuses on the body as a vehicle for identity. It is about the encounter with Lucas—his expression, his posture, his presence.