GERMANY: Fantastic Photographer & Urban Culture Documentarian – IRXNSCHMOIZ

On this profile page, we’d like to introduce you to the photographer and urban art documentarian IRXNSCHMOIZ. He’s been part of the Vagabundler collective since end of 2023 and continously provides the archive with incredible photos of countless locations. The funny part is, that we actually got in touch because of a criticism he made. He pointed out that the Hannover Map had so few photos and was so poorly documented. We said, “Yeah, we’re missing people from there who’ll send us photos. Why don’t you join us?” And that’s exactly what he did!

After that the Hannover Map was extensively expanded with countless pages on spots and events, and beyond that, we started creating additional pages for places in the surrounding area. There we also had initially individual pages for Bremerhaven, Braunschweig, Dortmund, or Hildesheim; later, so many photos were added that we upgraded the those articles into individual maps.

IRXNSCHMOIZ’s work is fantastic; his photography and the process the images go through take time, and he puts a lot of energy into it. That’s why the results are always a feast for the eyes. Below, he introduces himself to you with a text. After that, you’ll find the maps he’s played a major role in building, along with an archive of the now countless individual articles on other locations throughout Germany.

IRXNSCHMOIZ – „About Myself“: Even as a child, I was interested in, fascinated by, and enthusiastic about geometric objects, shapes, and structures – as well as abstract and surreal works and expressionist color patterns – regardless of whether they were man-made or naturally formed. To this day, nothing has changed in this regard. My understanding and perception of my environment have always been predominantly visual. Over the years, I have largely managed to channel my pronounced tendency toward perfectionism outward; yet, I always strive to achieve the optimal result in my own work as well – provided the effort required remains reasonable.

The mindsets prevalent in the technical and graphic professions within my childhood home shaped my tendency to view the world through a predominantly technical and geometric lens. My creative talent manifested itself early on through daring constructions built with LEGO® and Fischertechnik®, in my school art and shop classes, and during my first forays into photography. Consequently, completing a degree in engineering was a logical next step. Alongside my career in international plant engineering, my interest lay in collecting microcrystals – minerals in their flawless, perfect, purest, and most vividly colored forms. Closely related to this theme, and combined with my technical background, my interests expanded to encompass objects of industrial heritage and geotourism: the surface facilities of former mines and their spoil heaps, power plants, vintage machinery, processing factories, smelters, blast furnaces, coke works, and the like – many of which could be classified as „lost places“.

For a long time my photographic work in this field was purely documentary in nature; however, over the last fifteen years, it has gradually evolved toward a more artistic and interpretive approach. I was particularly and enduringly impressed by the spectacular large-scale sculptures situated atop the repurposed slag heaps and rubble mounds left behind by the mining industry – specifically in the Saarland, and most notably in the Ruhr region. There they were again: the geometric objects, shapes, and structures – the rich possibilities for creative reinterpretation through the lens of photography. This marked the starting point of an intense and all-consuming interest in „public art“ in its entirety. Before long, I began to view various urban spaces as open-air art galleries. Initially, I set out specifically to seek out murals by high-caliber artists. There are so many of them…

Increasingly often, however, my eye – honed by years spent crawling over old mining slag heaps in search of mineralogical „treats“ – began to get snagged on the „graphic legacies“ left behind by certain contemporaries along my urban wanderings; the result was that I suddenly began to notice these elements quite consciously within the cityscape. Once sensitized in this way, I realized that cities are bursting with „unauthorized graphic elements in the public sphere“ – things I had previously failed to notice (or simply ignored). For several years now, however, these elements have exerted a fascinated pull on me; I even actively seek them out; I love them. Graffiti, Graphics, Color, Lines -everything I have always loved! Even the occasional piece of anarchic nonsense, along with many pieces featuring commentary on current political affairs, they left a palpable impression, or at the very least, often left me with a temporary, amused grin on my face. Perhaps this is due to the fact that – classified today as a member of the „Baby Boomer“ generation – I grew up and was socialized in West Berlin immediately after the construction of the Wall, and moved into my first apartment in the immediate vicinity of the „true“ West Berlin neighborhood. What a fucked-up area that was! The left-wing, alternative, and anarchist scene in Kreuzberg during the 1980s sensitized and politicized me. Today, this helps me to spot, understand, contextualize, and evaluate the „legacies“ left behind in the urban landscape – even if I do not share every view proclaimed there. Back then, I often walked along the strip of land between the Wall at Potsdamer Platz and Mariannenplatz, photographing interesting subjects. I was using analog film, of course! And frequently in black-and-white with a strong red filter, and even with bringing things full circle after more than 35 years for Graffiti!

Shapes and colors have simply always fascinated me; here, they serve as historically unique documents! The same applies to my father’s photographs, whose passion for photography I have inherited. Shortly after the opening of the Wall, my young family and I managed to escape to West Germany: completely overcrowded public transport, grocery stores stripped bare of goods, and a firsthand encounter with the „shortage economy“ of the Soviet Occupation Zone – which had effectively been exported to the West. Life in Berlin had become an ordeal. For about ten years now, my travels have led me to the highlights of street art – or urban art – located north of the Cologne-Dresden line. Occasionally, I even venture south of the Main River – the so-called „Weißwurst Equator“ – to places like Nuremberg, Stuttgart, and even Munich. Yet, graphic motifs and the exploration of „lost places“ have by no means been forgotten. I really like all the different genres described, but to summarize it in some words: My true passion lies in the finest „wild style“ lettering, photorealistic-looking pieces, zany characters, whimsical paste-ups, and quirky artistic leftovers.

Under the name „AURORA IRXNSCHMOIZ„, I bring together my various creative threads. One area falls under the category of „Art in Public Space“. On this website, you can view a selection of the many photographs I have taken during my various expeditions as a „Street Art Hunter and Gatherer“. My own artistic creations and projects related to this subject will be published at irregular intervals on the Instagram page Kampagne24 in the near future. In the other area, I focus on the creative realization of geometric shapes and structures, color patterns, reflections, optical distortions, dynamic lines, and asymmetrical objects – all achieved through photographic means and entirely distinct from streetart. It’s about modern architecture, deconstructivism and aesthetics in their purest form. My photographic work in this realm is dedicated to the minute detail – to „optical resolution“ and the „visual deconstruction“ of recognizable objects using a camera and computer software. I reduce fundamental graphic forms to their bare essentials, then, but quite radically, I rip them out of every conceivable context. The resulting graphic works are ultimately highly abstract and timeless. New publications of this works are currently in preparation.

Always the right cap on the can, and the perfect filter in front of the lens… Stay tuned!

Aurora Irxnschmoiz  –  May 2026

Below we present you the maps which got built during the years, of course starting with the map for Hannover, followed by Bremerhaven, Braunschweig, Dortmund and Hildesheim.

In addition to the countless works featured on the displayed maps, which were created from photos taken by IRXNSCHMOIZ, he also contributed to various other maps and submitted photographs, including the Berlin Map and the Hamburg Map. And we created a lot of other single pages to events, halls, cities and exhibitions. Those are listed below.

LOCATION PAGES BY IRXNSCHMOIZ

INFOTHEK

Photographer:  IRXNSCHMOIZ

Hashtag:  #irxnschmoiz

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/kampagne24

MORE STREETART MAPS FROM GERMANY

>>> Streetart Map Berlin <<<

>>> Streetart Map Braunschweig <<<

>>> Streetart Map Bremerhaven <<<

>>> Streetart Map Dortmund <<<

>>> Streetart Map Dresden <<<

>>> Streetart Map Frankfurt <<<

>>> Streetart Map Hamburg <<<

>>> Streetart Map Hannover <<<

>>> Streetart Map Heilbronn <<<

>>> Streetart Map Hildesheim <<<

>>> Streetart Map Insel Poel <<<

>>> Streetart Map Munich <<<

>>> Streetart Map Rheine <<<

>>> Streetart Map Wiesbaden <<<

MORE ARTICLES ABOUT GERMANY

>>> Graffiti Mag MAINSTYLE <<<

>>> Stencil Artist TONA <<<

>>> Das Dreckige Dutzend <<<

>>> Sculptor Pit Ruge <<<

>>> Dosenkunst – Jörg Rudolph <<<

>>> Kollektive Offensive <<<

>>> Urban Artist AUTARK <<<

>>> Sprayer CESAR ONE <<<

>>> Sprayer MIND 21 <<<

>>> Filmmaker Bernd Lützeler <<<

>>> Lupus Alpha – Calligraffiti <<<

>>> Firedancer Cassiopeia <<<

>>> Collagist DeePee <<<

>>> Sprayer ARTMOS4 <<<

>>> Painter Serkan Goeren <<<

>>> ElectroClassics – THE OHOHOHS <<<

>>> Painter Frau Fenster <<<

>>> Photographer Niko Neuwirth <<<

>>> Performance – Dirk Baumanns <<<

>>> Graffiti Artist RAWS <<<

>>> Hannover Glocksee <<<

>>> TO5Z <<<

>>> Andreas Weingärtner <<<

>>> Sprayer BERK <<<

>>> Nashi Young Cho Jazz <<<

>>> AnniMalisch Techno <<<

>>> Tula Trash’s Trashland <<<

>>> Performer Tamara Zippel <<<

>>> Painter Angelika Grünberg <<<

>>> Kreativnomade Sam Khayari <<<

>>> Toy of the Ape <<<

>>> Painter Jay Gnomenfrau <<<

>>> Photographer Tom Hoenig <<<

>>> Frankfurt – Pillar Paradise <<<

>>> Graffiti Weißwasser N3M <<<

>>> Bochum Kings Wall <<<

>>> Asylum Domjüch – Artbase <<<

>>> CD Kaserne Celle <<<

>>> Combo Karlsruhe <<<

>>> Hidden Treasure Festival Bremen <<<

>>> Urban Art Düsseldorf <<<

>>> Bergwerk Grube Wohlfahrt <<<

>>> Völklinger Hütte <<<

>>> Summa Madnezz <<<

>>> IBUG Flöha <<<

>>> Fritten Freddie <<<

>>> Dave the Chimp <<<

>>> AJZ Talschock Chemnitz <<<

>>> Abandoned N*Dorphinclub <<<

>>> Wolfsburg Graffiti Jam <<<

>>> Hola Utopia! Festival <<<

>>> Braunschweig Westbahnhof <<<

>>> Fürth – Europakanal <<<

>>> Hamburg – Heimfeld Hall <<<

>>> Dortmund – Speicher Hall <<<

>>> Neuenhagen Train Station <<<

>>> Rose Parkhaus Hildesheim <<<