Exam Booklet and Hand in Night Lecture Hall

Deep blue projector light floods the empty lecture hall near Dortmund, illuminating rows of wooden desks that recede into the darkness. A closed examination booklet lies flat on a polished surface in the foreground, positioned directly beside a hand that trembles against the wood. The cool glow reflects off the varnished tabletop and metal chair frames, creating small sharp highlights. Outside the high windows, the dead of winter presses a dark silence against the glass. Shadows stretch across the floorboards, showing the isolation of the single occupied seat among the empty rows. The paper edge of the booklet catches the light, revealing the grain of the wood beneath.