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Glaciers uncover ‘lost’ objects

An ancient ski pole, a shard of glass bearing the Star of David, the remains of a chamois. As he crosses Switzerland’s glaciers, Damian Poffet has encountered many objects. His photographs demonstrate the evanescence of man and nature.

Poffet has not always found it easy to cart away his finds, and is sometimes forced to break them up to fit them in his backpack. But over the years he has built up an impressive collection.

As a photographer, he is as interested in the objects as he is in their past and how they ended up in this otherwise pristine landscape. “Who was the owner of the Leica lens cover? Did the adventurer who travelled through here when skis and poles were made of wood lose just a pole or his life as well?” he asks.

There are no answers of course, but there is nothing to stop the viewer from imagining his own story.

(Photos: Damian Poffet / Text: Peter Siegenthaler)

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR