For his exhibition Creatives in Exil, Wagner chose the medium of photography. He paired landscapes of the Swiss mountains, that were a major source of inspiration for exiled composers of the 19th century, with portraits of over twenty emigre artists living in Hamburg today. The men and women in the photos come from Colombia, Syria, China and seventeen other countries, and went through a great ordeal before settling in Germany. Wagner portrayed them en face against a neutral grey background, leaving a “void” above their heads, giving them room for movement. The Völkerkunde Museum of Hamburg and local consulates helped the artist source and meet his subjects.