LAYOVER
(currently in progress)
Layover is a photographic series by Mābu Nauendorff that documents the living spaces of international students in Germany. The project focuses on the everyday environments that reflect the experience of living temporarily in a foreign country. Each portrait shows how people adapt their surroundings, combining inherited items, belongings brought from home, and new purchases to create a sense of comfort and familiarity in a foreign country.
(5) 2026/04/16 - Sawa
from: Japan
arrival: 7 months ago
planned stay: 1 year
Sawa lives in a dormitory, sharing her floor with around twelve other residents. They use a communal kitchen and bathroom. She and a friend once bought a microwave for the shared kitchen, but after the friend moved out, Sawa took it into her own room. A note is still attached to it, stating that the microwave is not for public use; and politely reminding anyone who ignores that rule to at least clean up after themselves. The pig plushie on her bed has been with her since birth.
(4) 2026/03/01 - Fūka
from: Japan
arrival: 6 months ago
planned stay: 6 months
Although Fūka spent most of her time in Germany living in a student dormitory, we chose to photograph her in a room of my family home, where she stayed during the first and last weeks of her visit. She warmly refers to my parents’ house as her jikka (実家) in Germany; a term that usually denotes the home or place where one grew up before moving away. It implies a place of care and ease, where the pressures of adulthood fall away and one does not need to perform.
(3) 2025/11/07 - Ellie
from: Canada
arrival: 3 months ago
planned stay: 1 year
Ellie taped many photos and letters from loved ones on her wall. Most of the objects in the room, including the plants and furniture, do not belong to her. When asked about her hometown, she showed a book of landscape paintings by a local artist from Alberta. After the visit, she noticed a poster in her hallway that she had not yet fully noticed during the three months she had lived there.
(2) 2025/10/24 - Anton
from: Wales (UK)
arrival: 2 months ago
planned stay: 2 months
Anton and his girlfriend found this normally expensive flat through a friend of a friend and are renting it for a low price. The apartment belongs to an elderly woman who did not want to handle it herself. Almost nothing in the space belongs to Anton. He described the designer armchair he is sitting on as the most uncomfortable chair he has ever used. One of the few items he brought is his Welsh bucket hat.
(1) 2025/10/15 - Ana
from: Mexico
arrival: 2 months ago
planned stay: 3.5 years
The pillow on the armchair was handmade and embroidered by Ana. She decorated the room with artworks and objects she brought from Mexico and placed her stuffed animals on the bed. During the visit, a second mattress was on the floor for a friend who was staying over.
Would you like to be photographed for Layover?
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