Photographing impermanence
Swiss artist Tobias Madörin has been photographing city scenes and landscapes since 1991. He seeks out structural similarities in the most diverse areas of the world, and in capturing the nature of impermanence raises questions along the way.
Flooding in Weesen, Switzerland. A country villa is partially submerged. The water level draws a line through a property that is the epitome of a nouveau riche ideal. Such buildings represent a life goal – and yet as the photo shows, such dreams can also be destroyed.
Madörin focuses on public spaces like squares, football stadiums, public swimming pools or beaches. But he also observes areas on the periphery of our attention, places on the outskirts of a city, landscapes located in the middle of nowhere.
Figures can be seen in some of his shots, sometimes very small, yet numerous. In other pieces, the focus is on construction and design. Often nature has undergone considerable remodeling as a result of land exploitation and pollution. Or it has become so artificial that not even the slightest hint of original nature is left.
His camera scans the visual and notes, contemplates and analyses the environment. The result: the images tease and raise questions.
Madörin’s appraisal is neither judgmental nor moralising. Because of this, he creates images that tell a story of the drama of existence.
(Pictures: Tobias Madörin; original German text: Nadine Olonetzky)
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