honorable mention
Adrian Schaub switzerland
Photo © Adrian Schaub
title
Should I stay or should I go
This resulted in a series of pictures, which I titled “Should I stay or should I go”. Borrowed from a song by the Clash, I found this title quite appropriate for the body language of the young people on the diving tower. Some of them climbed up the first steps in good spirits, their chests swollen out, only to remain standing on the first level of the diving platform in a nonchalant manner, undecided as to whether or not they would dare to jump from the top platform into the sea under the peer pressure.
My birth during the student unrest in May 1968 fits well to my later individualistic attitude. The early death of my mother then reinforced my need for emotional independence and shaped my positive attitude towards being alone. My teenage years during the 1980s youth riots and my law studies increased my interest in fundamental values and how they change. I wrote my doctorate thesis about the paradigm shift of the concept of war in international law from a value-neutral tool of policy to a crime. My decades of work as a lawyer shaped my positive attitude towards ambiguity and the legitimate co-existence of alternative points of view.
I am less influenced by visual artists than by musicians like Bob Dylan, Chumbawamba, Morrissey or The Smiths and authors like Heinrich Böll, Max Frisch or Ayn Rand who create pictures in my mind that I aim to capture with my photographs.
Artist statement
My core topic is "solitude", which is about the two facets of being alone, i.e. self-chosen independence on the one hand and unwanted loneliness on the other hand. In my pictures it is often in the eye of the beholder whether a photo is perceived as an expression of independence or of loneliness. In my street photography the irregular shapes of living creatures’ contrast with the regular forms of the environment. People are interchangeable anonymous actors whose faces are not visible. Animals are a part of the city life as well.
The technical leitmotif is "Reduce to the Max": square, black and white, simple and authentic. There is nothing in the pictures that has not already been on the analogue or digital negative.
I use analog and digital Hasselblad medium format cameras. E
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entry description
The picture was taken in Saint Malo (France) in the summer of 2022. On the beach, there is a walled-off swimming area with a picturesque diving tower. When we passed by in the morning, the diving tower was deserted. Together with the islands in the background, this still made a nice holiday photo. On the way back in the afternoon, the tide began to rise. As the water level rose, so did the number of local youngsters who threw themselves off the tower into the Channel.This resulted in a series of pictures, which I titled “Should I stay or should I go”. Borrowed from a song by the Clash, I found this title quite appropriate for the body language of the young people on the diving tower. Some of them climbed up the first steps in good spirits, their chests swollen out, only to remain standing on the first level of the diving platform in a nonchalant manner, undecided as to whether or not they would dare to jump from the top platform into the sea under the peer pressure.
about the photographer
Curriculum VitaeMy birth during the student unrest in May 1968 fits well to my later individualistic attitude. The early death of my mother then reinforced my need for emotional independence and shaped my positive attitude towards being alone. My teenage years during the 1980s youth riots and my law studies increased my interest in fundamental values and how they change. I wrote my doctorate thesis about the paradigm shift of the concept of war in international law from a value-neutral tool of policy to a crime. My decades of work as a lawyer shaped my positive attitude towards ambiguity and the legitimate co-existence of alternative points of view.
I am less influenced by visual artists than by musicians like Bob Dylan, Chumbawamba, Morrissey or The Smiths and authors like Heinrich Böll, Max Frisch or Ayn Rand who create pictures in my mind that I aim to capture with my photographs.
Artist statement
My core topic is "solitude", which is about the two facets of being alone, i.e. self-chosen independence on the one hand and unwanted loneliness on the other hand. In my pictures it is often in the eye of the beholder whether a photo is perceived as an expression of independence or of loneliness. In my street photography the irregular shapes of living creatures’ contrast with the regular forms of the environment. People are interchangeable anonymous actors whose faces are not visible. Animals are a part of the city life as well.
The technical leitmotif is "Reduce to the Max": square, black and white, simple and authentic. There is nothing in the pictures that has not already been on the analogue or digital negative.
I use analog and digital Hasselblad medium format cameras. E
back to gallery
