Alps
With the series Alpes, Matthieu Gafsou reveals the complexity of the mountain torn as it is between different perceptions: untouched nature, symbol of the swiss national identity, and exploitation by the tourist industry.
Since his series Espaces nomades which he began in 2008 in Scotland, Gafsou's artistic preoccupations have been based on the connection between unspoilt nature and its domination by human beings. The taste of present day society for a return to authenticity has generated the development of a new type of tourism seeking remote and untouched destinations. However, this in itself threatens these regions and subjects them, in their turn, to becoming pure commodity. Is not the mountain an excellent example of this paradox?
Between artistic photography and documentary, sacred and profane, the images of the series Alpes confront near-sublime panoramas with the tourist clichés and infrastructures which are their lot. Mountains give Gafsou the opportunity to pose philosophical questions about the human condition.
Text written by Noémie Richard
