Alex Hanimann: Of People and Places (Cat. Museo Villa dei Cedri / Centro d'Arte Contemporanea Ticino, Bellinzona, and Kunstverein Heilbronn)

This extensive publication featuring photographic works presents a selection from two ongoing series created over the past ten years. They differ fundamentally both in their production and in their appearance and materialization. One series shows images created in a photo studio – statically staged and focused on the human figure – while the other consists of photographs of landscapes taken in and through movement. While some images are in color, calculated, and strictly composed, the others appear dynamic, sometimes blurred, taken from unusual perspectives, and are generally black and white. Calculation and chance, or order and chaos, would be fitting pairs of terms for a possible subtitle. On the one hand, rules and the experiences and insights derived from them form the applicable guidelines and framework conditions; on the other hand, moments, glances, and events without specific intention or causal connection become images. Both approaches are rooted in the history of art as fundamental artistic techniques. The publication thus creates the opportunity to make visible, in a deliberate sequence, an engagement spanning many years with the techniques and principles of image produc