Daniel & Geo Fuchs, nature & destruction – Photography

Daniel & Geo Fuchs, nature & destruction – Photography

As part of the official programme of the European Month of Photography – EMOP Berlin – we present a series of works by the internationally renowned artist couple Daniel & Geo Fuchs in the exhibition “nature & destruction”.

In their latest series of works “nature & destruction”, the internationally renowned artist couple Daniel & Geo Fuchs deal with the opposing poles of aesthetics and destruction in nature. In today’s world, where resources are becoming increasingly scarce and the world is inexorably affected by climate change, they deal with the fragility of nature. Nature, as seen by Daniel & Geo Fuchs, is on the one hand the supposedly perfect reproduction of what man interprets into it and hopes for: nature as beauty and as the giver of all resources and forces. On the other hand, however, one is confronted with its destruction through human intervention.

The leitmotif of the EMOP Berlin 2023 is Touch. This leitmotif is primarily intended to express the desire for a form of connection or continuation of contact – to keep in touch. During the pandemic, many people experienced distance and loneliness and wished for closeness and security, at the same time breaking away from home and escaping into nature to find touch and security there – untouched by humans. The works by Daniel & Geo Fuchs open up this path with the means of photography, touch and inspire further discussion and reflection.

Rugged and steep cliffs, snow-capped mountains and plantless hills rise unreachable and seemingly untouched into the sky. The sea and lakes ripple to unknown shores, lapping lonely islands and beaches. In the picture “Jacques”, small groups of islands rise angularly out of the sea like crystals and out of reach, the fish traps seem to be mounted into them; the pink algae and growth on the islands have something familiar, sweet and at the same time surreal, pointing to the destructive potential of man. In “Luis”, “Reinhold” and “Thor”, which all show grandiose mountain massifs, one only sees the gondola lift built into the silent snowy landscape or the houses built into forgotten valleys and nature when looking closely. Unflowered bare tree stumps give a picturesque view of the sea, the sea washes up against the romantic palm grove. However, the colours laid over the works by the artists give the viewer pause and shake the supposedly ideal world.

The images are mainly created with a camera robot developed by Nasa and Google for the Mars mission, in which hundreds of images are stitched together into one; this results in an incredible richness of detail that intensifies the viewer’s gaze. The impression is created – especially in the large-format works – as if looking out of a window into a breathtaking panorama.

For the exhibition in Berlin, the artists are realising a vision and, for the first time, bringing an image from their “nature & destruction” series of works onto a wall as a fresco. For this, they have found the company Wallprinters as a cooperation partner, who, with their innovative technique, bring large-format pictures directly onto walls of any kind of surface and, thanks to their experience, realise the works of Daniel & Geo Fuchs with precision.

More information on Daniel & Geo Fuchs.