“I am a wandering photographer or a photographing wanderer”
Bruno Augsburger
An Artist “Tanter ils mounds – between the worlds”
“When people ask me what I’m looking for here in the Lower Engadine, on the edge of Switzerland, I say: the authentic, the primal, the untouched: Deserted forests, bears caught on camera traps, bearded vultures in the sky, the scent of pine needles in the sunlight, the serenity of the peaks, the murmuring and whispering of the Inn River… In search of a landscape that lives and speaks, I have found more than just a home here. I’m a country boy and always will be. Even though I work as a photographer in cities like Tokyo or accompany the construction of Europe’s most modern waste-to-energy plant, nature, or rather: the more-than-human world, remains my constant, both in my life and in my work.
As a child, I loved being outdoors. On hikes, we would follow the scent of mushrooms – my parents, my brother, and I. And while the other boys were chasing after girls, I was photographing grass snakes. Later, I was drawn to Iceland and the vastness of the Canadian Yukon, where I travelled on foot or by canoe in summer, and on snowshoes or with sled dogs in winter. Often, my camera was my only companion, even though I wasn’t looking for anything in particular – except to become one with the forests and moose, the rivers and salmon.
I am a wandering photographer or a photographing wanderer. My images emerge naturally, in the moment, from a feeling. I love Zurich’s Kreis 4 and the buzzing energy of New York, but the farther I am from urban noise, the closer I feel to myself.
Whereas my earlier work turned away from civilization, I’m now interested in what we make of landscapes – and what landscapes make of us. Because untouched nature no longer exists – not at the Arctic Circle, not on Piz Linard, and not within the larger whole of which we are all a part. The Lower Engadine reminds me of the Canadian wilderness: mountains speak of greater forces and confront us with geological time scales that humble me. So once again, I set out with my camera to discover a region where time both stands still and moves forward; where locals are deeply rooted, and newcomers are global nomads; where one neighbour sings centuries-old chorals while the other exhibits modern and explicit installations. I want to document this transformation as well. Some of my images may appear devoid of people at first glance, with human traces only revealing themselves upon closer look. To me, they are full of stories. They speak of beauty and violence, of emergence and decay, provocation and melancholy, wit and madness. But above all, they tell of my love for this valley.”