In the new series of works entitled Ilulissat, artist OLAF OTTO BECKER shows us how nature itself creates beauty. The photographs were made in the Ilulissat ice fjord in Greenland where one third of the year is dominated by polar darkness, and at the other extreme the sun never sets for four months. Olaf Otto Becker travelled there in 2003 and 2006 so as to capture a unique natural phenomenon: during the summer months a large number of icebergs become detached from the glacier in the ice fjord. From the moment of detachment the seemingly weightless ice formations, which are in fact extremely heavy, begin to break up. Olaf Otto Becker captures this in his photographs before they dissolve for ever in the Arctic Ocean.

At the instigation of the Galerie Ruzicska the artist returned to Ilulissat in July 2015. Equipped with a rubber dinghy and a digital camera he paddled every day up to 80 kilometres along the fjord, constantly searching for the perfect moment to press the trigger. The best possible lighting is just as important for him as the motif. From his boat Olaf Otto Becker made up to 50 separate shots of a motif which he then merged with the help of his computer in a difficult post-production process to create the final picture. This technique guarantees a unique depth of focus: every discolouration in the ice, every fissure, every break line becomes visible. The ice formations drift in the sea like ships without a rudder; when the sea is smooth they are reflected in a fascinating way in the water. During the Baroque era this effect was created by making artificial lakes; nature achieves this, entirely in accordance with Olaf Otto Becker’s intentions, by itself. The selected angle, the picture detail, the noble portrayal of nature remind us of great models from art history. Olaf Otto Becker states that Early Netherlandish painting is his source of inspiration: the spaciousness in the picture and the lighting situation give him the impetus for his own compositions. The titles of his photographs state the precise geographical position of the iceberg and the time when the picture was created. From this temporal and geographical positioning it is evident that the artist intends his pictures as a documentation.

olaf otto becker