The exhibition "Across Borders" in Berlin takes a closer look at the visible and invisible borders that divide our worlds. On this beach in South Korea, people can't go any further than the fence - despite a common history, North Korea is entirely sealed off from the south.Photo: Jörg Brüggemann, "Families Collecting Shells," Songjjho beach, South Korea, 2012
The demarcation line between North and South Korea is the last frontier of the Cold War. For decades it was off-limits. Today, around 100,000 tourists visit the Joint Security Area each year. It's a living history lesson.Photo: Jörg Brüggemann, "Visit Korea", South Korea, 2012
Northern Ireland has seen conflict between Catholics and Protestants ever since the 17th century. It culminated in civil war in 1969. "Peace lines" were built in cities like Belfast to separate the two sides. Even though the violence has officially ended, the peace lines still stand.Photo: Anne Schönharting, "Road Closed," Ireland, 2011/2012
Following decades of civil war, South Sudan declared independence from the North, and the North accepted it. The photographs show South Sudan's independence celebrations - and the moment when the new border was established. The photographer was interrogated on suspicion of spying.Photo: Espen Eichhöfer, "A State is Founded," South Sudan, 2011
The former international airport in Nicosia is in the middle of the buffer zone between the Greek and Turkish parts of Cyprus. It's guarded by the United Nations. The conflict continues and the airport continues to rot, together with everything in it.Photo: Heinrich Völkel, "UN Buffer Zone." Nicosia Airport, Nicosia, Cyprus, 2012
These three judges aim to punish international war criminals. It's a tough, difficult job, since the International Criminal Court is dependent on the co-operation of national governments.Photo: Frank Schinski, "Three Judges on the Way to the Courtroom in the International Criminal Court in The Hague," The Netherlands, 2012
Vern is a Lubicon Cree; his ancestors have lived for generations in Canada. Borders meant nothing to his people. When new settlers divided the land among them, the Lubicon Cree were simply left out. Back then, they were hunters and could provide for themselves; now many live on welfare.Photo: Dawn Meckel, "Vern Hunting Pigeons." Canada, 2012
Scarcely anyone cares about the children in the so-called "homes for medico-social care" in Bulgaria. They spend their days largely in isolation. Many of them are born with physical or mental handicaps; others are handicapped as a result of their time in the home.Photo: Pepa Hristova, "Labyrinth of Glass," Bulgaria, 2012
The deepest German border experience is the division between East and West. The black and white pictures by Ute and Werner Mahler, who helped found the Ostkreuz agency that put on this exhibition, show what is left of the border. Photo: Ute and Werner Mahler, "Wall near Waddekath," on the border between Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony, 2011
A bureaucratic procedure, the asylum process, is how it's decided whether a refugee can stay in Germany, or will be expelled. It can take years before a decision is final.Photo: Sibylle Fendt, "Registry in the Department for Asylum Issues, Exceptional Leave to Remain" and "Humanitarian Residence Permits (left); Wall in a Refugee's Room." Berlin, 2011/2012
Roma are always a minority. They have no state of their own, and they live in countries that tolerate them but don't make them welcome. Many live in poverty; two-thirds don't finish school. The photographer visited Roma in Italy, Kosovo, Slovakia and Hungary.Photo: Annette Hauschild, "Hit the Road Jack," 2011/2012
The current exhibition "Across Borders" is the Ostkreuz picture agency's seventh group show. The agency, which was founded in 1990 by well-known East German photographers, now has 18 members from different countries and of various ages. The exhibition is on at the House of World Cultures in Berlin untl the end of the year.
The exhibition "Across Borders" in Berlin is taking a closer look at the visible and invisible borders dividing our world.
The exhibition "Across Borders" in Berlin is taking a closer look at the visible and invisible borders dividing our world.
