In the narrative photographic series “Under An Open Sky”, I stage a fictional village that is being surprised by fantastic events. In doing so, I illuminate the relationship between people and nature and the relations within society.
Experiences in nature have always fueled people’s belief in the supernatural and have provided a breeding ground for spirituality.
As a child, I spent a lot of time outside. Behind every tree, there was something to discover. Nature became a playground, limited only by my imagination. Today, as an adult, I have to take time in my daily life to experience nature actively. And yet its effect remains impressive: sometimes calming on a walk, frightening in the forest at night, or breathtaking on a ski tour in the mountains.
In “Under An Open Sky,” I didn’t want to put on the adult perspective shaped by rationality and knowledge. Instead, the scenes are meant to fire the viewer’s curiosity and imagination – the fresh, exciting perspective of a child on a voyage of discovery.
The photographs show the figures in the lonely moment of discovery. Lonely because the initial confrontation with the emotions always remains one’s own, no matter how many people surround one. Thus the discovery of the outside world also becomes one of the self – reflected in the images.
The artworks were inspired by directors like David Lynch, Robert Eggers and Ingmar Bergman and artists like Edward Hopper, René Magritte and Cindy Sherman. A surreal mood is created by light and artificial fog in the conceptions composed of numerous exposures. From the retouching of everyday objects to the calculation of complex water simulations, the image gradually assembles itself in post-production.