Ingo Gebhard: Meer-Menschen

The waters of the North Sea are among the roughest in the world. Ingo Gebhard (* 1966 on Wangerooge), a native of the region, captures the force of nature in his landscape photography, for which he has perse­vered in the salty air, biting and gale-like winds, and drifting dunes―sometimes for hours. Using long ex­posures, he records the movement of the water, the weather, and the land. The gentle transitions and washed-out contours of his images create the effect of fog but are actually produced by traces of sea cur­rents and passing clouds. This publication combines the artist’s landscapes with his portraits of inhabi­tants of the northern coast of Germany, including beach attendants, fishermen, surfers, and well-known personalities such as the polar explorers Arved Fuchs and Otto Waalkes. The pores of a cheek are rendered in sharp contrast, appearing like kernels of sand; tousled hair seems to become waves; and a high forehead turns into a smooth-washed stone. The sea is written of the faces of its people. Exhibition: Hafenmuseum Speicher XI, Bremen 7.9.–2.11.2014