What does democracy mean to you? In the wake of the local elections, a new show at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art in Sunderland City Library, Fawcett Street, has brought together six very different photographers and artists to look at past and present democracies across the world.

The result is a fascinating hotchpotch of powerful images guaranteed to provoke a spot of head scratching.

The Fragile Democracy exhibition is made up of must-see work by August Sander, George Osodi, Immo Klink, Cyprien Gaillard, Salome Oggenfuss and Nontsikelelo Veleko.

All of the people and places in the photographs exist in some form of democracy, though the extent of their freedom and rights is often threatened or frail in some way.

None of the images has been shown in the UK before. They will be on display at the gallery until June 21.

August Sander's photos "People of the Twentieth Century" kick off the exhibition. Simple portraits of bailiffs, beggars, Nazi soldiers and composers document Germany's experiment with democracy from 1919 onwards.

George Osodi's work looks at the people of the Niger Delta: an area torn apart by the oil industry, where wealth, greed, crippling poverty and pollution are unhappy bedfellows.

A lighter part of the exhibition is Nontsikelelo's pictures of young "dandy" fashionistas in South Africa, while Immo Klink's photographs unearth hidden settlements and communities living alternative lives across Europe.

Cyprien Gaillard's video piece looks at Europe after the Second World War, while Salome Oggenfuss investigates America's Deep South, from nudist colonies to religious beliefs.

And behind the images are some equally gripping stories.

Both George Osodi and Immo Klink have gone to extraordinary lengths to get their pictures.

Niger Delta rebels held George, 34, on a boat for 12 hours and held a gun to his chest, believing he was a spy from the oil companies. He has been beaten on several occasions by angry locals or government workers suspicious of his motives.

He said: "My first contact with the rebels was terrible – I thought I was going to die. But I kept calm and they let me go.

"It was bad but I never feared for myself – I just care about pictures. I have a huge passion for photographs."

Letting the outside world know about the situation in the Delta kept George motivated throughout the five years he spent sneaking in and out to take pictures.

He said: It is a jungle for conflict, greed and corruption.

"But people don't want to see gory pictures, so I took pictures that are beautiful – to draw them in.

"When they look closer they think: 'Wait a minute, what is going on here?'"

Immo Klink, 36, came to photography through his political beliefs.
He said: "I came to London to study law and began to get interested in certain protest movements.

"It was frustrating that people would do things like smashing up Mcdonalds while saying 'another way is possible' I began to think 'well where is it and who's doing it?'"

Immo, who comes from Germany, set off in search of protest movements which evolved into small clustered communities across Europe, and spent years winning the trust of residents and taking pictures of their lives.

He said: "A lot of these settlements don't want to be found, so I had to relay on word-of-mouth. These are not places you will find on Google.

"I thought about living like that but it's not just about me because I have a partner and a young son.

"I think we can learn a lot from the way these communities work.

"They don't do everything perfectly and they have big problems too, but I took a lot away with me as far as things like alternative energy and decision-making were concerned."

Like George, taking pictures has led Immo into some tight spots.

He was arrested for breach of the peace in 2005 after photographing the perimeter fence at the G8 protest in Gleneagles. He was released without charge and remains undeterred.

Curator Alistair Robinson said: "The exhibition is about countries in a state of transition, young democracies.

"The point is to give an insight into things you wouldn't see otherwise.
"Hopefully the people who come along will see things they've never seen before from all around the world."

So if you think elections and democracy boils down to car parking charges and fat cat councillors, head along to this exhibition, and think again.

See more pictures in today's Echo