This book combines photography and literature in a unique project. Over a period of fifteen years, photographer Alexander von Reiswitz captured randomly selected people, who happened to be in the same place at the same time, as fictional families in staged family portraits. These encounters, photographed across various countries and cultures on four continents, inspired new fictional narratives. Renowned authors were invited to create stories based on the photographs, inventing imaginary familial relationships and destinies for the portrayed individuals. At the heart of the project is the role of coincidence, which determines so much, after all—not least what we call the right moment, the instant that in photography produces remarkable snapshots, and in life brings people together or causes them to just miss each other.

Alexander von Reiswitz (*1965 in Málaga) lives and works as a photographer and architect in Berlin. His projects featuring “studio animal portraits,” such as Zoogestalten and Animal Stars, have been exhibited in numerous shows worldwide.