The girl with the rats is a homeless girl, carrying her stuff in a shopping cart.
That couple in that tree is rural nobility, forming a unimportant niche too in german society, and likey he used the geese to emphasize the rural character of the setting.
The red sofa is the link between all persons and situations. Maybe a metophor for us being the same. Maybe you see that as too banal.
Also it forms an island of cosiness in all surroundings, thus creating a situation within a situation.
Actually I didn't and/or don't find the couch too banal, just some of the images with the couch in various places in the world were a little banal. For every group of pictures, there is usually one picture that stands out more than the rest, either to an individual, or maybe to many people. There will also often be one or more pictures that one could consider a bit banal, or maybe, "weak", is a better description.
I have never heard of this photographer, but having now had a chance to read through some google translated pages, then looked at a greater representation of some of his other work, but also including the red couch series stuff, I think he is a pretty good photographer.
I was wondering about his age though, one page I read mentioned he was born in 1950, another page talked about a celebration of his seventieth birthday. I quote from the original (but translated to me, text).
2016 wurde zu Wackerbarths siebzigsten Geburtstag im
NRW-Forum in Düsseldorf sein Lebenswerk gezeigt, dazu gehörte auch das Rote Sofa , das zum Sitzen und porträtiertwerden einlud.
I think this picture shows some imagination, both in the inspiration of the idea, and in the actual making/taking of the image.
http://www.rost-digital.com/main/paradisenow/pix/Isabel Engel.jpg
To almost make the arms disappear and show off the wings, is pretty neat. At least that is my take on this picture.
Mick.