"We have long since lost our faith in photography's capacity to show untempered reality. Indeed, it is the very opposite that fascinates us today: the subjective vision of seeing how somebody else sees the world around us, which challenges, awes and inspires"
-Christian Eggenberger
Eggenberger,C. (2004)"Introduction".
Photo Suisse, 11-15.
Critic Christian Eggenberger notes the importance and extreme variety of vision exhibited by Switzerland's photographers. Switzerland boasts a great wealth of talent, which may be a result of its mottled cultural make-up. It is the personality brought to the work by each individual artist that cannot be duplicated, despite similar subject matter. The author writes that native artists Balthasar Burkhard and Thomas Fletcher both work with mountains as a concept, but each man has a unique vision and goes about his photography in a different manner. The former envisions the image before arriving on location, while the latter needs to be on the sight and figures out what he is making after it has been captured on film. Every artist is shaped by personal experiences, which have a way of appearing in their work. As an artist, it is terribly difficult to ignore certain compositions and themes relevant to your own interests.
This collection has introduced me to two artists who have similar concerns, but whose work can clearly be differentiated from the others. Both Katrin Freisager and Olivier Christinat have played with the female form and neutral backgrouds in their imagery, but each one has effectively put their own spin on the subject matter. Katrin's work is more playful and at times dark, while Olivier's can be more deadpan, and focuses more on the power of the model's gaze.
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