Under the title "Über Land" (Across Land), the Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig (MdbK) presents the latest series of works by renowned photographic artist Hans-Christian Schink (born 1961 in Erfurt). The work focuses on the landscape of the far northeast of Germany, which the photographer illuminates from different perspectives in three distinct sub-projects. From a visual standpoint, "Über Land" is a multifaceted, contemporary engagement with the influential tradition of European and North American landscape painting—particularly Romanticism. At the same time, the work sits at the intersection of current societal debates about the transformation of the landscape due to climate and structural change, the associated loss of biodiversity, and the impact of these processes on people's experience of nature.
While his projects over the past 20 years have taken him to the most remote corners of the earth, Hans-Christian Schink has for the last few years focused on his immediate surroundings in the Mecklenburg Lake District. This region – shaped by the last Ice Age – is extremely sparsely populated and, in recent times, has been increasingly influenced by industrialized agriculture. In addition to his intensive photographic exploration of the landscape, his latest work incorporates a natural history interest in the flora and fauna, as well as an examination of the landscape's history (both geological and related to human land use). The artist has been guided by two fundamental questions: What defines this landscape, and how can its character be captured photographically, but also through other forms of expression?
Two of the three sub-projects of "Über Land" (Hinterland and Unter Wasser) have already been published as books by Hartmann Books. To coincide with the exhibition opening, the third sub-project, "Am Weg," will also be released, featuring an essay by the poet and writer Uwe Kolbe, who captures the unique character of the place on a literary level.
Opening: Wednesday, November 26.11th, 18 pm
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