crowd sourced photographic monuments by corinne vionnet

‘monument valley’ 2009 all images courtesy of the empty quarter gallery

swiss/france based artist corinne vionnet has sent us images of her collection of travel portraiture. through online crowd sourcing of photogenic landmarks from around the world, vionnet has compiled several meta-portraits of around 100 images into one. exposing the consistency of how these landmarks are composed photographically but also visually capturing the ephemeral feelings of tourists into seemingly surreal landscapes.

the project serves as a study of not only the technical means available to source this material but also provides a means to analyze why so much of the same material exists. perhaps there are unspoken rules about how we collectively photograph and remember the time spent in foreign environments or simply that so many people want ownership of the same monument that we decide on similar visual experiences. vionnet says “I feel the photographs of these monuments also attest to the admiration that is brought to them. they share the excitement and emotion of the unique time spent in their midst for each of us.” 

whichever be the case individually, the work provides an inspiring view of human creation and the documentation of it over time.

‘kinderdijk’ 2007

‘mont saint-michel’ 2009

‘london’ 2006

‘venezia’ 2007

‘san francisco’ 2006

left: ‘matterhorn’ 2006 right: ‘paris’ 2006