Gwätt

In this exhibition, Haut-Valais photographer Thomas Andematten zooms in on a particular construction technique known in Wallisertitsch as "Gwätt".

A student of Oswald Ruppen, Thomas Andenmatten worked for many years as a freelancer in Brig. His projects were based, among other things, on the documentation of disused and repurposed buildings. During his research, the "Gwätt", known as "en coches" in French, particularly caught his attention. These are wall beams - logs - stacked one on top of the other, arranged at angles and held in place by notches. This technique has been used for centuries to build rural houses and buildings in the Valais. The "en coches" immortalized for the exhibition were reworked by the photographer in post-production, using symmetry and mirrors to create a surprising trompe-l'oeil effect. In addition to the fascinating assembly of the pieces of wood, the various colored touches add an extra dimension to the perception of these photographs.


Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.