Exhibition
Organizer: gta Exhibitions
Date : Friday, 19. February 2010 to Tuesday, 23. March 2010 Mo-Fr 8-22, closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays
Location : Architekturfoyer, HIL, Hönggerberg, ETH Zurich
Opening: Thursday, 18 February 2010, 6 p.m.
Architekturfoyer, HIL, Hönggerberg, ETH Zurich
Alongside his professional work, the young photographer Tonatiuh Ambrosetti from the can-
ton of Ticino also engages in his own artistic projects. In the “Deus ex Machina” exhibition,
Ambrosetti presents a photo sequence that follows the tracks of wild, untouched nature. How
does the countryside alter, what influence do the changing seasons have, what are the effects
of the weather? In the Alps, very slow morphological transformations contrast with tempestu-
ous and violent events. While glaciation and erosion take place over periods of decades and
centuries, meteorological effects can lead to abrupt changes. Ambrosetti’s photographic eye
is aimed at slow changes as well as the signs of raw violence — snapped and shattered trees,
mudflows, masses of snow, flashes of lightning.
As in the work of the painter Alexander Calame, Tonatiuh Ambrosetti’s pictures show nature
as injured, damaged, rough and wild — as the victim of its own elemental forces. Human
beings have no place in it as a moderating influence, and they are powerless in the face of the
events taking place.
In his work, Ambrosetti uses traditional photographic techniques, which enable him to work in
extreme weather conditions. In addition, the heavy equipment forces him to work very slowly.
This handicap necessitates precise observation, and due to the small number of photographs
that can be produced in this way, it leads to careful weighing up of the motifs to be selected.
Organizer: gta Exhibitions
Date : Friday, 19. February 2010 to Tuesday, 23. March 2010 Mo-Fr 8-22, closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays
Location : Architekturfoyer, HIL, Hönggerberg, ETH Zurich
Opening: Thursday, 18 February 2010, 6 p.m.
Architekturfoyer, HIL, Hönggerberg, ETH Zurich
Alongside his professional work, the young photographer Tonatiuh Ambrosetti from the can-
ton of Ticino also engages in his own artistic projects. In the “Deus ex Machina” exhibition,
Ambrosetti presents a photo sequence that follows the tracks of wild, untouched nature. How
does the countryside alter, what influence do the changing seasons have, what are the effects
of the weather? In the Alps, very slow morphological transformations contrast with tempestu-
ous and violent events. While glaciation and erosion take place over periods of decades and
centuries, meteorological effects can lead to abrupt changes. Ambrosetti’s photographic eye
is aimed at slow changes as well as the signs of raw violence — snapped and shattered trees,
mudflows, masses of snow, flashes of lightning.
As in the work of the painter Alexander Calame, Tonatiuh Ambrosetti’s pictures show nature
as injured, damaged, rough and wild — as the victim of its own elemental forces. Human
beings have no place in it as a moderating influence, and they are powerless in the face of the
events taking place.
In his work, Ambrosetti uses traditional photographic techniques, which enable him to work in
extreme weather conditions. In addition, the heavy equipment forces him to work very slowly.
This handicap necessitates precise observation, and due to the small number of photographs
that can be produced in this way, it leads to careful weighing up of the motifs to be selected.