StauWerke: Monuments of Power

Description

A Photographic Resume of More than 100 Years of Water Barrier Construction. Pioneering feats of industrialization and electrification, around 200 retaining walls, weirs, and dams in the Swiss Alps are among the most important monuments of the country's economic success to this day. With their perfectly crafted architecture, these functional marvels emanate an almost sacral tranquility. Photographer Simon Walther has been captivated by their magic: fascinated by the interaction between nature and technology in the harsh conditions of the alpine climate, he presents the energy and power inherent in every flood barrier in all four seasons in a surprising light. Some walls dominate the landscape with their weighty mass, while others almost seamlessly fit into it. At the same time, in his photographs each dam stands as an independent work of art in Switzerland's untamed nature.

Simon Walther, born in 1965, is a Swiss photographer and designer. After finishing his training as graphic artist and designer for advertisement, he founded his own communication agency in Wattwil in 1989. Beside commissions for corporate design, brochures, documentations, catalogs and annual reports, Walther has devoted himself to freelance photography of mountains and landscape since 2010.