Landmaschinen, 2024
Indian ink on stereographs. series of 46 drawings, each 17.5 × 8.5 cm
Stereographs, meant to be viewed in special devices, allowed people in the 19th century to see the world in 3D. This early 3D technology emerged right after photography’s invention, making stereographs the first mass-produced photographic images, predating postcards. Consequently, many people experienced 3D photographs before seeing 2D images.
The stereographs that were used for the series were mainly taken in the 1860s and early 1870s, coinciding with large infrastructure projects in the Swiss Alps (first roads, later trains) that connected the newly founded Swiss federal state, but which also made the landscape accessible for tourism. Some images even show the construction of the first few hotels, which were built to accommodate chiefly English tourists.
Contrary to the idea of nature-as-wilderness, these early touristic photographs often included these infrastructures in the frame. By painting over the stereographs—also to honour the numerous touristic miniature painters made obsolete by the advent of photography—the relation of the infrastructure to the landscape is accentuated.
What constitutes the landscape? Is it the rocks, trees, meadows, and sky? Or is it the roads, paths, bridges, and hotels that ultimately facilitate the view?