| | | |  | | | Guido Baselgia, Tierra helada – El Angel, 2013
© Guido Baselgia | | | | | | As If the World Were There to Be Measured | | | | ... until 16 February 2020 | | |  | | | | | | | | | |  | | | Guido Baselgia, Tierra templada № 1, 2018
© Guido Baselgia | | | | | | Known for his photographs of landscapes of stone and ice – extremely dense black and white compositions on the verge of abstraction – Guido Baselgia ventures in a surprising new direction with his latest cycle of works. The specialist for austerity and emptiness has made the transition to abundance: his photographs of the tropical rainforest in the Amazon Basin explore the representability of a habitat that is so pervasive in the collective visual consciousness, a landscape at the crossroads of geopolitical controversies due to its acute endangerment. The exhibition at the Fotostiftung Schweiz is showing Guido Baselgia’s photographs from eastern Ecuador for the very first time.
The new work opens up another chapter in the series of Baselgia’s work cycles. Seen in sequence, his projects of the past twenty years almost read like a creation myth: images of lifeless wasteland are followed by the stars above, then by vegetation and humankind. The photographer pursues elementary questions and crosses the paths of famous explorers on his travels, but his pictures testify to a very nuanced view. The world no longer needs to be mapped, there are no more white spots, today we have become critical of the utilitarian and colonialist gesture inherent in measuring the world. Looking at photographs from remote parts of the world now prompts us to reflect on the conditions of our reception.
Baselgia approaches the jungle by perceiving it as a multitude of small worlds. The photographs from the cloud forest overgrown with lichens, ferns and orchids suggest an external point of view: draped against a white curtain of condensed humidity, the plants appear as fragile silhouettes. But even in the thick of the tropics, he succeeds in photographically isolating shapes: sweeping vines, tangled branches and monumental trunks. This series of almost sculptural plant details reminiscent of Karl Blossfeldt’s work is complemented by views that refuse to give a foothold to the observing eye. It becomes lost in the depth of a restless clutter of leaves. A horizon only opens out in the images of the Aguas Negras region, where isolated plants protrude from the still, black water and, through their symmetrical reflection, accentuate the line that divides the image area into two equal halves. | | | | | |  | | | Guido Baselgia, Amo, (of the Waorani nation), 2018
© Guido Baselgia | | | | | | In addition to Baselgia’s photographs of forest spaces and plants, which in a sense can be seen as a continuation of his landscape photography, the exhibition is rounded out by distinct still lifes and portraits that highlight the importance of the forest as a habitat. Today, the Waorani and Secoya indigenous peoples live in a state of tension between their traditional lifestyles in harmony with nature and adaptation to the changes brought about by the encroachment of oil companies. The progressive exploitation of the rainforest is increasingly depriving them of their homelands and livelihoods. In full awareness of the problematic tradition of ethnographic photography, Baselgia strives for a very respectful representation of the people he meets and who agree to support him in his project. He captures their serious gazes and pays tribute to the individuality of the people he portrays.
For the still lifes, Baselgia on the one hand arranges fruits of the forest, hunted animals or their remains, and on the other hand utensils of traditional village life. Enlarged as diapositives and presented in glassine covers, the objects resemble archival finds. The archaeological character of the still lifes is also echoed in another group of pictures: reproductions of selected pages of the book Anfänge der Kunst im Urwald ("Beginnings of Art in the Jungle"), published by the German anthropologist Theodor Koch-Grünberg in 1905. Viewing the unprinted backs of the plates under grazing light reveals fine reliefs of line patterns and ornaments. With this citation, Baselgia reflects on the history of the exploration of the Amazon Basin and critically examines the possibilities of its representation in media.
Not least due to the escalation of the situation in Brazil over the past few months, Baselgia’s latest work cycle is a highly topical project. Although this is no photo reportage claiming to represent a reality, to report on the extinction of species and the displacement of indigenous people from the forest, and although there is no raised finger lamenting climate change – or perhaps precisely for this reason – Baselgia’s interpretation of this unique habitat is especially moving. | | | | | |  | | | Guido Baselgia, Tierra caliente – «Traurige Tropen», Añangu, 2 April 2018, 17.32 hrs
© Guido Baselgia | | | | | | The exhibition and publication were supported by: Vontobel Foundation, Friends of the Fotostiftung Schweiz, Landis & Gyr Foundation, Ernst Göhner Foundation, Canton of Zug, Canton of Graubünden, Ernst and Olga Gubler-Hablützel Foundation, Ars Rhenia, Municipality of Baar, Graubündner Kantonalbank.
The Fotostiftung Schweiz receives regular financial support from the Swiss Federal Office for Culture, the cantons of Zurich, Thurgau, and Ticino, and the city of Winterthur.
Publication
Accompanying the exhibition is the book by the artist:
Guido Baselgia, Als ob die Welt zu vermessen wäre
("As If the World Were There to Be Measured")
Edited by Fotostiftung Schweiz
Edizioni Periferia, 2019
Special events
Sunday, 20 October, 11:30 a.m. Tour and dialogue with the artist
Guido Baselgia in conversation with Teresa Gruber
Sunday, 1 December, 11:30 a.m. Tour and dialogue
Teresa Gruber in conversation with Dr Michael Kessler, scientific director of the Botanical Garden of the University of Zurich, specialised in tropical biodiversity and tree line research
Sunday, 19 January, 11:30 a.m. Tour and dialogue with the artist
Guido Baselgia in conversation with Teresa Gruber | | | | | |  | | | Guido Baselgia, Ceibo I, 2018,
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