A new work assignment in Baku, Azerbaijan, in January 2020. Wulf Rössler has never been there before and there was not much for him time to prepare the trip. Baku, a name he only knew from Formula 1, and a city circuit with a spectacular skyline in the background. A look at the map where Baku is located, a stopover in Istanbul in the middle of the night, and arrival in the morning fog of Baku.

Not the best time of the year and not the best conditions for photography. He decided to take his Leica Q2 with him to be fast and unobtrusive when taking pictures. Being picked up from the hotel in the morning and brought back later in the evening allowed him only fleeting glimpses of an unknown city. Also, only a few moments to take a breather on the beach or at the pier. First rays of sunshine in the morning on the 24th floor of the hotel.

Big black SUVs and business people in the city center. But a few minutes away from the center, painstakingly mended cars that had escaped the car crusher in western European countries and people whose hard life was written on their faces.

BAKU, WHO ARE YOU? Who are those people walking along the roadside so much occupied with themselves? Everything seems to be locked up. Walls around so many buildings, even watchtowers as if the middle ages still were present. Now and then in the distance, the towers of oil wells, which represent the wealth of the country. A mysterious country. Mysterious people. Everything at the interface between the past and future.