Almsee 2 from the series Symmetry

New, constructed and idealised realities emerge from a process of deconstruction and subsequent reconstruction in the series Symmetry. The project questions perceptions of reality.

Surprisingly, these images are entirely convincing and it is not immediately obvious what is happening in them. But are they real? How do we know and is it necessary to know at all?

Only the meticulous viewer will notice that the two halves of the pictures do not always join up perfectly. This is to state that perfect symmetry does not occur in nature, just as there is no perfect, absolute reality. Perfection, including symmetry, is an artificial (i.e. human-made and therefore un-natural) concept.

There is also a strong environmental element in this work: There are suggestions that our planet may be uninhabitable by the turn of the next century and that important tipping points have already been reached. Nature and scenery will then only exist as a constructed, artificial and idealised reality. The images in this series are as unreal as the scenery, on which they are based, may become in only fifty to eighty years from now.


This image was created at Almsee (Lake Alm), Grünau, Austria.

The paper used for prints from this series is Awagami Kozo Thin White. Kozo, the fibre from the mulberry tree, is the most traditional fibre used in Japanese papermaking. The fibres are much longer than those from materials used in Western papers. They produce exceptionally strong paper.

The weight of this archival (ph neutral) paper is 70gsm, which means it is translucent. For framing it can be mounted on white board but it could also be backlit.

Because this paper is thin - even though it is strong - holding a print immediately feels very precious; just like handling a treasure. You become aware that the print is a unique object and appreciate that careless handling will produce damage. This paper is another wonderful example of the delicate-yet-strong paradox and challenges Western preconception that only thick, cardboard-like paper is “good” paper.

A paper of this calibre will always display a certain amount of variation from one sheet to another. For instance, some minute irregularity in the pulp or the occasional tiny fleck may be visible. This is not a fault but a result of the paper making process, which marks it out over the sterility of mass produced papers.

I am using this paper for prints from the series Symmetry because it supports and enforces my comments about the environmental element in this body of work.


Prints ship in a box and are unframed. The dimensions quoted are the size of the paper. There is a white margin around the actual image.