Limited space

The focus in all my projects is man's environment. At the same time, people are significantly absent from the images. This means that attention is directed not to the individual, but to mankind in a general sense. My work is about how man shapes his environment, but more importantly, how his environment shapes man. In my view, the role of man as a freely choosing, controlling factor that shapes his surroundings is limited. He is rather a plaything of the mechanisms in a highly developed society. Broadly speaking, free will is relative, and the times and the surroundings in which people live define who they are. My projects always visualise this in one way or another.

The project which is now being worked on is comprised of stereo photographs. There is thus an extra dimension which is not present in ‘normal’ photos: depth. Often, by the use of long exposure times, movement is recorded as a three-dimensional blur. Handling movement in this way adds the dimension of time to the dimensions of space. All the images, even those without movement, visualise space and time.

Normally the basis for stereo photography, the distance between the two lenses of the camera, is the average distance between the eyes. If the two lenses are farther apart, the subject of the photograph is experienced as being smaller. The viewer has the same experience with the photographs in the project ‘Continuation’, the result of applying selective focus there. This however has many limitations for the photographing and the selection of subjects. Using stereo photography gives one the possibility of expanding the choice of subjects. The subjects will cover a wide spectrum, from atoms to stars and from the beginning of life to its end.

The title of the project refers to the fact that, with stereo shots using a wide base, the images look like a miniature diorama. In a larger sense, the title refers to the limited latitude for movement that man has in relation to his environment. Temporality and the passage of time are also among these limitations.

The images below are two presentation setups; a Cobox (during the exhibition Märklin World at the KAdE, 2012) and a viewing box (during a exhibition at CBKU, 2011).