- a curiosity and passion for human beings as individuals and in communities. The ordinary and extraordinary share each frame in carefully composed studies of people he encountered while travelling across a changing Europe. Fifteen of Sander’s celebrated works form the hub of ‘Fragile Democracy, an exhibition that explores photographers’ engagement with political transition and alternative cultures across the world.

The five contemporary artists in the show work within similar themes, though each has a personal vision. NontsikeLelo Veleko calls herself a ‘street photographer’ and creates dazzling image-stories styled as hyper-bold fashion spreads. Self-expression and South African history emerge together in her portraits of Johannesburg’s ‘urban dandies’. Colour, costume and posture become attention-grabbing statements of attitude and identity, as Veleko uses current trends to think about a broader heritage. ‘In South Africa history has been removed from history, as few young people know their past’, she said in an interview with Martin Chemhere. ‘I am also celebrating colour as I come from a Xhosa background where the language is colourful.’

In contrast, the photographs of Glasgow School of Art graduate Salome Oggenfuss are gnarled and melancholy. She delves into America’s Deep South, tracing a world outside the mainstream. Her image-gathering road-trip has parallels with August Sander’s own travels, and she shares with him a compassionate interest in her subjects, often laced with quiet humour. ‘Demolition derby races, trailer parks, re-enactments, and county fairs’ are where Oggenfuss finds strong, strange characters and landscapes. Candid portraits reveal the subjects’ trust in their photographer and draw you in, to find similarities between these serenely weird Americans and your own hidden, wilder, odder or lonelier self.

German born, UK based, Immo Klink contributes to high end style titles such as Vogue and I-D, but has also created work for anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters. He has documented 'subvertisements' – altered billboards reclaiming public space and questioning the values of corporate advertising – viewable on his website and infused with humour. Klink's strong commitment to art-based activism and the fringes of city life comes through loud and clear in his choice of photographic subject matter. He has also observed the phenomenon of Urban Climbing (the extreme sport of climbing on the outside of buildings), Critical Mass Cycling, Buy Nothing Day and World Bank/G8 Summit protests. For the NGCA, Klink presents his take on the architecture and way of life of a dozen communities and communes across Europe.

‘Fragile Democracy’ also includes the film work of Cyprien Gaillard, spanning east and west, from Kiev suburbia to extravagant Parisian nightlife, and George Osodi’s digital images, which look at the West African landscape as a place of extreme beauty and harsh economic realities. All of the work in the show has either been specially commissioned or is on display for the first time in the UK. Historical insight is found in August Sander’s inclusion; fresh perspectives come from the artists working now. You can appreciate the photographs at the NGCA as striking visual pieces, intense portraits or thought-provoking sociological documents – the possibilities are endless. In our fragmented, fast-changing present, human characteristics captured with precision are a comfort.

Fragile Democracy: New International Photography, May 2 – June 28
Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, City Library and Arts Centre, Fawcett Street, Sunderland. 0191 514 1235. www.ngca.co.uk

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