WALD | Landscapes of Memory

WALD | Landscapes of Memory are deep memories we carry within us. They are the mythological images of our childhood, recalled from fairy tales and Romantic paintings. They are collective deep memories of virgin forests, embedded in our cells and genes for centuries. Images we were born with, which accompany us through life until we die. "Landscapes are culture before they are nature, constructs of the imagination that are projected into woods and water and rock."* Landscapes do not exist per se. They are created by the artist. They exist through his perception and perspective in combining multitudes of elements like the weather, light and trees, shrubs, grass and moss. Two levels are synchronised in the pictures; the experience of nature and deep, remembered landscapes. This project was determined by the questions how silence can be depicted in an image and how to approach the elusive, ephemeral realm. The woods and twilight are the medium for this silence, for an open image that leaves space for ones own associations and phantasies. Photographs from the series WALD decelerate the beholder and allow peacefulness. They create a connection with the inner space of silence. A silence that is always there, that everyone carries within oneself; but which is usually cluttered with constantly challenging demands and impressions of everyday life. * Quote by Simon Schama The pictures are photographed as single images, diptychs and triptychs. Book WALD by Hatje Cantz Germany 2011