Fotomuseum Winterthur : New photography from Switzerland

Nowadays more than ever is photography the hybrid between documentation and fiction, between the concrete and the abstract, between reality and fantasy and which brings up the subject of the split of our perception. The Winterthur Photo Museum is showing the Real Fantasies – New Photography from Switzerland exhibition from 4th March until 21st May 2006. Found photography, banal photography, media intrusive photography, photographic soaps, staged theatrical photography, morphed photography or tenacious documentary photography: There are almost no limits to the possibility of applying this visual medium to the present day - even if the art market is currently avoiding it.. The photography scene in Switzerland has really developed over the last two decades. Since 1990 a series of publications has documented this development: The publications shown in Winterthur show how in Switzerland– parallel to the international situation – an abundance of pictures and attitudes create a presence and how the scene has gained density and wealth from year to year. In view of these motions we are interested in the question of how young photographers and artists work with the medium of photography today. The research by curators Urs Stahel and Thomas Seelig amongst artists, university teachers and gallery owners all over Switzerland provided plenty of evidence. On request of the Photo Museum around two hundred and fifty artists sent in their dossiers. From these 21 examples were chosen, which reflect the wealth of the scene and the density of all submitted work. The recurring motif of the exhibition is the mingling of reality and fiction with fantastic realities and real fantasies. And there will also be a publication to accompany the exhibition: *Real Fantasies – New Photography from Switzerland*, Hg. Urs Stahel / Thomas Seelig, format 23x30 cm. Around 150 colour photos. Essay by Urs Stahel, German / English. Published by Christoph Merian Verlag. Exhibition price Fr. 49. Winterthur Photo Museum Grüzenstrasse 44 + 45 CH-8400 Winterthur (Zurich)