Recent Topographics
Rainer Zerback
In his photographic works, Rainer Zerback (*1958) has been intensively concerned with the theme of civilisation for over thirty years. The title of his solo show RECENT TOPOGRAPHICS refers to the American landscape photography of the “New Topographics”, which emerged in the 1960s and consciously turned against the traditional romanticising landscape photography of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It focused on landscapes that, due to their banality, had not received any photographic attention until then, such as agricultural landscapes, suburban settlements or industrial plants. In contrast, Rainer Zerback’s exhibition RECENT TOPOGRAPHICS once again focuses on the beautiful or even spectacular landscape that is worth seeing. However, these natural landscapes are not untouched by human civilisation, be it through relics of man – sometimes only recognisable at second glance – or through the massive presence of man himself.