Born
in the year of the Lord 1966 in the booming watch-manufacturing
city of Biel/Bienne in Switzerland my youth was a typical swiss
one. This means good schools, good parents, a well organized
life. It would have probably gone on, if I didn't drop out high-school,
because I was more interested in computers, drawing and the graffiti-scene
than in math and Latin language.
This was the time of exploring the world. Travels lead me
to South-East Asia, India and the African countries of the north,
like Morocco and Algeria. I spent several months in England and
tried to learn the English language (hope you understand this
text). But life is cruel and even swiss people have to work to
earn their living.
So had I.
To make it right, I started an apprenticeship as a computer
programmer at the Swiss Railways. Four years passed by in my
position as a state-paid computer programmer, when I suddenly
realized that this could not have been all. (Yes, it's this thought
men in their fifties usually come up with).
Nevertheless, I quit my job and started traveling again. It
turned out to become a two year journey to places like Borneo,
Vietnam, China and Tibet. This was actually the first time I
took a camera on a trip. Before this, I always thought taking
pictures in foreign countries automatically transformed into
a member of the tourist species.
Now I discovered how the world seen through a lens was a different
one. Being able to slice out a 125th of a second of the world
as it is, is probably one of the most radical interpretations
of reality. And still, photography has the reputation to show
reality. The tension between these two opposites keeps me fascinated
till today.
By the end of the trip I was convinced:
I had to become a photographer.