olaf otto becker: above zero galerie f5, 6, munich march 5th to april 24th, 2010

river 2, 07/2008, position 1 © olaf otto becker

german photographer olaf otto becker‘s new series ‘above zero’ captures the west coastline of greenland, in which he travelled 4000 km between 2003 and 2004, in a small dingy. the sole purpose of his trip there was to portray this coastal region with his 8 x 10 inch large format camera, which often made it a physically strenuous, and sometimes life-threatening journey among the glacial crevasses and snow melt flows.

each image has GPS data attached to it: seconds and minute degrees, much like a scientific experimental set-up. capturing the expansive beauty of the glacial landscape, emphasizing its silence, melancholy and the sublime of this land that few people know. his photographic study also exhibits the existential threat which is being laid upon the region. because even as a place which is uninhabited, the consequences of human influences are present: dust and soot in the air form black, crusty deposits which, in conjunction with global warming are accelerating the melting of the ice sheets, that will no doubt result in an unavoidable catastrophe.

olaf otto becker: above zero - 2river 1, 07/2007 position 1 greenland icecap, melting area, altitude 804 m © olaf otto beckerolaf otto becker: above zero - 3 river 1, 07/2007, position 1369° 40`53“N, 49° 54`06“W, altitude 715 m, 763 x 75 cm archival pigment print on hahnemühle paper, edition 6 signed, titled, editioned verso in pencil© olaf otto becker

olaf otto becker: above zero - 4river 2, 07/2008, position 3 69° 47`38“N, 49° 33`46“W, altitude 927 m, 7 63 x 75 cm, archival pigment print on hahnemühle paper, edition 6 signed, titled, editioned verso in pencil © olaf otto beckerolaf otto becker: above zero - 5 inlandeis 1 © olaf otto becker

olaf otto becker: above zero - 6kuvdlosuak_nebel 2, 7116 x 138 cm, archival pigment print on hahnemühle paper, edition 5 signed, titled, editioned verso in pencil © olaf otto becker

olaf otto becker was born in travemünde, germany in 1959. his work reflects the synthesis between scientific and artistic practice. becker studied communication design at the university of applied sciences for design in augsburg and then philosophy at the ludwig-maximilians-universität, munich. recently he participated in the ulsan international photography festival, south korea,  and exhibited at the powerhouse, new york and the deichtorhallen, hamburg.