Hans-Christian Schink | Unter Wasser
von Hans-Christian Schink((please scroll down for english version))
»Unter Wasser« ist gleichermaßen radikaler Bruch und konsequente Fortführung des bisherigen Werkes von Hans-Christian Schink. Bekannt für seine perfekt austarierten, großformatig fotografierten Bilder, vollzieht er in diesem Projekt einen Wechsel in seiner fotografischen Methode und lässt dem kontrollierten Zufall freien Lauf. Schauplatz sind Biotope in Deutschlands wasserreichstem Bundesland Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Seen, Gräben und sogenannte Sölle. Diese Gewässer entstanden zumeist durch die Rückbildung der Eisdecke am Ende der letzten Eiszeit und markieren damit den Beginn eben derjenigen Zivilisation, die Schink in seiner Fotografie so seziert. Schink arbeitete mit einer Unterwasserkamera, jedoch ohne dabei zu tauchen. So konnte er lediglich ahnen was durch den Sucher zu sehen gewesen wäre. Auf engstem Raum offenbaren sich unbekannte, fast archaisch anmutende Landschaften. Seine poetischen Bilder täuschen über die tatsächlichen Größenverhältnisse hinweg, es tut sich eine rätselhafte Miniaturwelt mit teils skulpturalen Charakter auf. Auch das Thema von »Unter Wasser« ist ein größeres als es die kleinen Biotope zunächst vermuten lassen: das Verhältnis von Mensch und Natur. Die Welten unter Wasser sind von den oberirdischen nicht zu trennen, denn sie sind ebenfalls gezeichnet von Landwirtschaft und Klimawandel. Damit knüpft Schink an eines der Leitmotive in seinem Werk an, nämlich dem der sozial determinierten Topografien.
Hans-Christian Schink (*1961) studierte an der Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig. Mit seinen Architektur- und Landschaftsaufnahmen im Spannungsfeld von Natur und Zivilisation avancierte er zu einem der wichtigsten Vertretern der zeitgenössischen deutschen Fotografie. Er lebt und arbeitet in Plath, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
„Unter Wasser“ is both a radical break and a consistent continuation of Hans-Christian Schink's previous work. Known for his precisely composed large-format photographs, his new body of work constitutes a radical change in his photographic method because he accepts chance as a factor in the image making process. The photos were made in different biotopes of Germany's most water-rich state, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: lakes, ditches, and so-called kettles. These bodies of water were mostly created when the ice sheet receded at the end of the last ice age and thus mark the beginning of the very civilization that Schink dissects in his photography. Schink worked with an underwater camera, yet he did not dive. Thus he could merely guess what was visible through the viewfinder. In a very confined space, he reveals unknown and almost archaic landscapes. His pictures distort the actual proportions, creating a mysterious miniature world with sculptural character. The subject of »Unter Wasser« is also bigger than the small biotopes initially suggest: the relationship between man and nature. The worlds under water cannot be separated from those above ground since they are also shaped by agriculture and climate change. Schink thus reconnects with one of the major themes in his work, namely that of socially determined topographies. Hans-Christian Schink (*1961) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig. His landscape and architectural photography, probing the relationship between nature and civilization, have gathered much critical acclaim. He is considered one of the most important contemporary German photographers. Schink lives and works in Plath, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
„Unter Wasser“ is both a radical break and a consistent continuation of Hans-Christian Schink's previous work. Known for his precisely composed large-format photographs, his new body of work constitutes a radical change in his photographic method because he accepts chance as a factor in the image making process. The photos were made in different biotopes of Germany's most water-rich state, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: lakes, ditches, and so-called kettles. These bodies of water were mostly created when the ice sheet receded at the end of the last ice age and thus mark the beginning of the very civilization that Schink dissects in his photography. Schink worked with an underwater camera, yet he did not dive. Thus he could merely guess what was visible through the viewfinder. In a very confined space, he reveals unknown and almost archaic landscapes. His pictures distort the actual proportions, creating a mysterious miniature world with sculptural character. The subject of »Unter Wasser« is also bigger than the small biotopes initially suggest: the relationship between man and nature. The worlds under water cannot be separated from those above ground since they are also shaped by agriculture and climate change. Schink thus reconnects with one of the major themes in his work, namely that of socially determined topographies. Hans-Christian Schink (*1961) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig. His landscape and architectural photography, probing the relationship between nature and civilization, have gathered much critical acclaim. He is considered one of the most important contemporary German photographers. Schink lives and works in Plath, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.