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.


river 1, 07/2007 position 1
greenland icecap, melting area, altitude 804 m
© olaf otto becker


river 1, 07/2007, position 13
69° 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


river 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 becker


inlandeis 1
© olaf otto becker


kuvdlosuak_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.