TROMSØ

Tromsø is located 217 miles north of the Arctic Circle. By the end of the 19th century, the small Norwegian town had become a major Arctic trade center from which many expeditions originated. The Explorer Fridtjof Nansen made use of the know-how in Tromsø on the conditions in the Arctic, and recruited parts of the crew for the »Fram Expedition« (1893-96) in the town.  He believed it would be possible to use the drifting ice in the Atlantic Ocean caused by ocean current in order to come close to the North Pole. Specifically for that reason he had built a particularly designed ship which allowed him to lock himself in pack ice and drift.
Although many polar explorers those days considered this project is impracticable, Nansen and the twelve-strong crew of the Fram had themselves frozen in pack ice close to the New Siberian Islands in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean at 9th of October 1893. After more then 18 months in which he and his crew had been frozen by ice, he decided to leave the ship on the basis of slow speed and unpredictable direction of drift. Together with crew member Fredrik Hjalmar Johansen he set out to the North Pole with skis and huskies in March 1895.
Although they didn’t succeeded, they set a new north record of its bold hiking. They had come as close to the North Pole as no man before. Not until August 1896 the two men were able to save themselves back to Norwegian mainland, after an extremely dangerous way back and with their last ounce of strength.
Immediately after his return of the expedition Fridtjof Nansen published under the title »Farthest North – The epic adventure of a visonary explorer« his report about the journey through the Arctic. He describes his experiences, thoughts and emotions during this adventure.
Fascinated by his records I traveled to the starting point of his trip and tried to explore what can still to be discovered of his impressions in and around Tromsø. 

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NOTHING TO DECLARE

A picture springs to mind. Vision, recognition and knowledge are inseparably connected. Does one want to tell stories with pictures, then one is confronted with the generalization of subjective moments. When one travels as a photographer through foreign lands, one becomes overwhelmed with all the novelties encountered. To penetrate this visual flood, to see through the clichés, to interpret the visible and invisible signs is a challenge as great as piercing the mist of the daily grind in familiar realms. Spreading over about the same area as Baden-Württemberg, with the population of 642 residents per km², Taiwan is the 4th most densely populated country worldwide. Since the end of WWII and the associated re-transmission of the island from Japan to China, one can still sense the aspirations of sovereignty toward the mainland republic. The german speaking countries do not maintain embassies on the island, however, Germany is one of the most important trading partners, with a trading volume of 13 Billion US dollars in 2012 alone. Besides its still unresolved legal status, Taiwan is caught in a tension war between the ancient asian tradition, which in contrast to mainland China is still practiced and celebrated in many places, and on the other hand the strong western influence. Buddhism and Confucianism compete with Asia-Pop and baseball; western capitalism and globalization come up against Japanese competition and work relationships. Taiwan is the last land in which the ancient, traditional Chinese is still spoken and at the same time the very first Democracy in all of Asia.

» Exhibition views: Deichtorhallen Hamburg

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DOWNUNDER

Narration is not a static entity. Staging and reality are linked in a dialectic relationship. A photo mirrors not only reality, it generates reality. Reality has many layers. It changes in the views of the onlookers. To photograph, to design and depict a picture requires empathy. Empathy for human beings, empathy for interconnections, empathy for life itself. During my journey through Australia I looked for moments in everyday life which may reveal what is »downunder« the apparently or obviously surface.

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