Rolf Sachs – Camera in Motion

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05 – 25 may 2025

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realized in cooperation with internationally renowned camera manufacturer leica, camera in motion is a recording of the experience of travelling on the bernina express through the swiss alps. photographed from the legendary albula-bernina bahn, sachs portrays the breathtaking landscape of the swiss engadin from a passenger’s viewpoint. using a digital s2 medium format leica camera, sachs depicts a unique perspective of motion and abstract imagery of this scenic terrain.

travelling the chur–tirano route since childhood, sachs has been collectively gathering glimpses and impressions of this journey throughout his lifetime. from december 1, 2012, until november 16, 2013, sachs took 19.718 pictures recording the train journey regardless of season or time of day. the resulting images are astonishing; they capture the tone and experience of the journey in a dynamic and picturesque manner.

the photographic outcome is equally as influenced by the train’s movement and the track’s positioning as it is by the light and landscape. apertures into the passing scenery, the train provides a perfect platform for photographing the panoramic backdrop. rolf sachs explains: in the train i am situated in the motion parallax. i can achieve longer exposure times for a sharp background while the abstraction of the foreground evokes exciting effects. this is the reason for the extraordinary speed and dynamic quality of the works.

the most striking images are those taken on the curve of a track as the arc distorts everything but the focal point. the real world seems to disappear with one clear point revealed: in these cases, the works are more like film sequences than static pictures.

this is a body of work full of contradictions. these images express a euphoria for speed but venerate the sublimity of nature. furthermore, each image is a quickly captured moment, but the body of work as a whole was ponderously collected over a nine-month period. rolf sachs‘ impressions are somewhere in the field between reality and the land of dreams. using the camera, he succeeds in catching amazing moments and natural scenarios that the human eye would never be able to grasp.

rolf sachs (switzerland, 1955) is a purist artist and designer influenced by malevich, de stijl, donald judd, joseph beuys, and surrealism. growing up in switzerland as the son of a german industrialist and a french mother, he was surrounded by art from an early age. in the early 1990s, he began creating unique design pieces and established a london studio in 1994, later moving to rome in 2018 and opening a new studio in 2020.

his work spans art, design, objects, photography, and spaces, all infused with a playful sense of humor aimed at provoking emotional and sensory reactions. a key moment in his career was the 2014 solo exhibition typisch deutsch? at the museum für angewandte kunst in cologne, which explored german stereotypes and resulted in the publication of a catalogue. sachs’s work has been exhibited in prestigious museums worldwide, including the victoria and albert museum in london and the peggy guggenheim collection in venice.

small format

18.03.2013 – 15:20:42

year: 2013
material: digital c-type print mounted on dibond,
mirogard glass and framed
measurements: w 59 x h 39 cm
w 23.2 x h 15.4 inches
edition: 6 + 2 a.p.

Rolf Sachs – Camera in Motion

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