Hello Darkness, my old Friend
In late summer 2020, following a two-month artist residency at Verzasca Foto Festival, I redefined the role of photography as a companion to an interdisciplinary exhibition. Hello Darkness, My Old Friend explores the themes of acceptance and the delicate balance between humanity and nature. Inspired by the symbolic fear of the wolves in the area, the project transformed these emotions into immersive installations and photographs. The result was an exhibition that carved out a space for reflection and raw feelings, inviting viewers to confront the tension and harmony within these shared landscapes.
Behind The Fence
The reptile lies on an endless surface of water, motionless, asking itself why there is no piece of earth to rest on for a while. Some saliva runs out of its mouth, sinks into the water and comes back to the surface as an island of grass, as it floats in many places on the Sepik. The crocodile opens its mouth wide, it falls apart. The upper jaw is now the sky, and the counterpart dropping down on an island and becomes earth.
In 2016 I have worked for several months as a carpenter in Papua Neuguinea. After my working hours my curiosity brought me to the Sepik, the longest river on Papua. After a few occurrences I ended up in Kandinge, a village in the Sepik swamp. Over there, I spent several weeks until eventually I was accommodated into the Jak Clan. There, I felt challenged as never before. Every few years a ritual takes place that sends the boys through a ceremony of several weeks and scarifies the bodies with hundreds of cuts. My first stay in Kandinge ended with the invitation to participate in this initiation ritual, I left the village. Several returns to Kandinge, however, followed afterwards. More and more I became part of their community and I got initiated into their secrets. In cooperation with the village elders, the project Behind the fence took shape. It is dedicated to their myths of nature religion.
When the Iatmul in Papua Newguinea speak of Kandinge in their language Ndu – which means human – they basically mean the village downriver. It is the last village in the region where the inhabitants, or more precisely, the men stick to their old traditional initiation-rituals. For the ceremony, older men and some novices back out for several weeks to the ‘men‘s house’, a building made of wood and other materials from the rainforest and decorated with elaborate carvings. Men without crocodile scars, women and children are not allowed to step behind the fence where the initiation takes place. When the rainy season starts in December and the Sepik overflows its banks, part of the village is flooded. The flood also heralds the arrival of the primordial crocodile.
I am a storytelling photographer always trying to explore and stretch the possibilities of documentary photography into a personal and poetic approach. My practice goes from portraits over fashion to fine art photography. My skills from carpentry over Scenografie to Art direction.
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Awards
- 2024Swiss Design Award 2024
- 2022Swiss Press Award
- European Press Price 2022
- 2021Swiss Press Award
- 2020Swiss Press Award
- Verzasca Artist Residence
- 2019Krakow Photo month Show Off
- 2017Globetrotter World Photo
Exhibitions
- 2024Cortona On The Move
Awards
- 2024Swiss Design Award 2024
- 2022Swiss Press Award
- European Press Price 2022
- 2021Swiss Press Award
- 2020Swiss Press Award
- Verzasca Artist Residence
- 2019Krakow Photo month Show Off
- 2017Globetrotter World Photo
Exhibitions
- 2024Cortona On The Move