Pearls, Tears of the Sea

Photo Editor: Laurie Kratochvil, New York
Pears as loan of: Vision-of-Pearls, Jutta Schley, München
Including CD: Songs to Rückert’s Poem „Der Himmel hat eine Träne geweint“, read by Michael Heltau
Music by: Schumann, Reger amongst others, new compositions by: Bruce Adolphe, Fabio Luisi
Performed by: Christoph Prégardien, Herbert Lippert, Jane Henschel, Miroslav Dvorsky , Renate Holm and Fabio Luisi

The idea for Pearls, Tears of the Sea came to me on the seashore at Camogli after a night during which the waves roared in and a wild storm raged. Next morning I went for a walk along the churned-up beach and was amazed. So much had been washed up on the beach, wood, seaweed, sea urchins, all kinds of flotsam. I took off the pearl I was wearing round my neck and laid it among all these mysterious treasures that had been revealed by the sea. It seemed as if it had always belonged there. Queen of the spume. The project was born.

©2011, Böhlau Verlag Ges.m.b.H. & Co. KG, Wien – Köln – Weimar, 119 Pages,

ISBN-10: 3205787412, ISBN-13: 978-3205787419

Glühende Nacht – Artificial Lights

«Glühende Nacht» befasst sich ausschliesslich mit Wahrnehmung von Licht im Dunkeln, Wärme und Kälte. Dunkelheit kombiniert mit Bewegung läßt ungeahnte Assoziationen zu. Die Elemente verschmelzen, Erde wird zu Wasser, Luft zu Feuer.

Alles dreht sich um das Element, die «Elemente» und das Elementare im Blick und Sehempfinden. Konkretes wird zum Abstrakten.

Nacht im Wiederschein der Glühlampen, verbannte Finsternis, die man doch jenseits des Lichtermeers sucht. In den Nächten von New York, Oslo, Tokyo, Wien, Paris oder auf Ozeanriesen und Segelbooten in der Weite des Meeres.

Technisch suche ich einen Weg, meinen Ideen nahezukommen durch Infrarot- und Farbumkehrverfahren, Vergrößerungen oder Reduzierungen. Das Medium Foto bleibt sich in jedem Moment der Behandlung treu, in meiner Arbeit gibt es keine Collagen, Zusammenschnitte oder Teilveränderungen. Die Verarbeitung erfolgt auf digitalem Weg, soll aber in der Tradition der analogen Fotoverarbeitung verankert bleiben.

©2008, Böhlau Verlag Ges.m.b.H. & Co. KG, Wien – Köln – Weimar, 118 Pages,

ISBN-10: 3205781899, ISBN-13: 978-3205781899

Nude Nature

This project was realized in May 2007 in the south of Italy, near Matera (Mel Gibson shot his movie ‘The Passion of Christ’ there). The heat, sky, water and nature, rocks like in the desert served as ideal surroundings for my nudes project. As I did not know what would come of this idea, I myself was surprised that the technique of imitating digitally alternative processes and solarisation, which I had already used before for some experimental projects with flowers, gave the pictures an interesting look.

My project was influenced by the wonderful work of Eikoh Hosoe (whom I met) and of course by the 20th century experimental master (and painter) Man Ray. My love of painting is the reason behind my way of seeing subjects – or objects, as they are both the same in nature. I was curious whether I would have a completely different view of the female body as compared to my male photographer friends. And, when I was working on the prints, I found that (maybe in a European way of seeing things) I had discovered ancient figures, such as gothic Madonnas, symbols of maternity, baroque forms the female body seemed to show (even my beloved violin) … Of course this is just what I see …

© 2007, Böhlau Verlag Ges.m.b.H. & Co. KG, Wien – Köln – Weimar, 101 Pages,

ISBN-10: 3205777093, ISBN-13: 978-3205777090