Manfred Stute | Engineer
Varena Stute | Sanctuary Creator 

Varena called me randomly before I came to trade in Europe and asked if I would be able to visit her and Manfred while I was in Germany. This was my aunty and uncle and I had to explain The Pixel Trade to them and why it would be difficult to just take a side trip to see them. In the end we agreed that a trade could be made and I would photograph their beautiful little cottage home in Esslingen, in the south of Germany, along with their veggie garden and ducks. This was a place I had visited a bunch of times in my childhood and it was a treat to come back after five years of not seeing their home and being able to look at it through the camera and my childhood memories.

One thing was on my mind the entire trade. How was I going to interview my uncle for the project. You see, he is a man that has worked for Mercedes his whole life, he started as a test driver for all the new cars and eventually became a pretty hefty engineer for some of the latest engines going into Mercedes trucks. Sounds like a serious guy right? Wrong. Since as long as I can remember he never gave me a straight answer about anything and often our short communication would result in him making fun of me and riding kangaroos in Australia. Despite this, on the last night I was with them, I sat at the table and tried my best to ask a few questions.

             Interview with Manfred

Describe your most memorable adventure as a child. 
When I was a child. My mother had a hen and an axe and she cut off the head while I held the hen really tight and when the head came off, I let the Hen fly around without a head and the hen flew into the soup pot.

What is the most interesting part about working for Mercedes?
50 years, every day was interesting.

What is something you haven’t told someone in a long time?
How many times I shot for the soccer goals in my life

When was the last time you were most sad?
Never

When were the most happy?
Every day 

If you had to recommend a favourite music album, what would it be?
At this time my aunty, who had been sitting quietly laughing at my uncles answers, sung out quickly, 'Georges Moustaki, Ma liberté'. In particular this song, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvFLBs9S8FY