Galić and Gredig
The Swiss artist duo Goran Galić and Gian-Reto Gredig have been working together since 2002. Their latest work ‘Photographers in Conflict’ deals with renowned photojournalists whose images form our daily perception of conflicts and disasters around the world.
“Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Cuba, Haiti, Angola, Africa, Georgia, then Gaza...”, this is only one of the enumerations that we come across in the video-projection ‘Hell on earth’ that serves as an introduction to Galić’s and Gredig’s recent work. In a sincere and focused manner different people, one after the other, enumerate various places in what turns out to be a historical order. Before long we grasp that they are listing their personal working life on the basis of zones of war and conflict. It is this unique interdependence between the individual life of the photojournalist on one side and the result of his work, the images of a war that then goes around the world on the other, that the projection highlights. And all these places quite visibly mean something different i terms of experiences and memories to the photographers whereas the viewer automatically links the places with pre-formulated associations in his mind’s eye.
Galić and Gredig capture for once the people behind the images in crisp large-sized photo portraits - and we can see their distrust at changing the sides. They are all too well aware of the inherent imbalance of power that comes with the photographic act. The artists photographed them in a very formal way. Presented in a classical knee-length portrait in three-quarter view these self-assured men and women (though mostly men) seemingly dispose of an impertubarble composure. But then – once one pays further attention to their eyes – their troubled life and the personal picture memory that they can’t escape shines through.
And this impression is confirmed by the eye-opening video-interviews that are presented along with the photo portraits. Arranged in thematical order as e.g. ‘Camera down’ or ‘Hours in the Darkroom’, they address central topics that deal with the photographer’s professional identity, self-reflection and professional ethos. With these video-interviews Galic & Gredig at the same time grant us a look behind the scenes as well as they draw the psychogram of an entire profession. A good photojournalist is the one whose work doesn’t just offer a plain answer but ignites the curiosity in the viewer and entails a great many questions. And in a parallel way, Galić & Gredig’s work ‘Photographers in Conflict’ doesn’t just deliver an answer but stimulates the observer to further investigate and reflect on the construction of reality, and on a broader level to learn more about the world we live in.
Goran Galić studied Photography at Zürich’s University of the Arts, and Gian-Reto Gredig studied Ethnology at the University of Zürich. Their work has been exhibited extensively in various museums such as the Fotomuseum Winterthur and the Kunsthaus Zürich and is part of several collections including the Fotomuseum Winterthur and Kunstmuseum Luzern. They have been awarded numerous awards and grants, including the Gubler-Halblützel Foundation and the Swiss Art Award, winning the latter twice.
Exhibition „Photographers in Conflict- Goran Galić & Gian-Reto Gredig“,
16 October until 29 November 2008
Vernissage: 16 October 2008, 6-9 pm