Gotthard

Nature, snow and mountains make an important part of the Swiss identity. Hyper-real textures and surfaces, astoundingly powerful natural elements and man’s efforts to cope with it are key ingredients of Swiss landscape photography. Urs Bigler’s “Gotthard” is a quality representation of it.

Gotthard is a high mountain pass located in central Switzerland, at an elevation of 2,091 m. above the sea level. From November till May the road over the pass is completely closed for driving. There is snow meters deep on it during winter. The history of this pass goes back to the 12th century. The first road over the pass was opened in 1830 and it connects Airolo in the canton of Ticino, and Göschenen in the canton of Uri. In other words, Gotthard is the pass in the mountains that connects the North with the South of Switzerland. Since the 12th Century the Gotthard is in the heart of Swiss identity. Moreover, the alpine passage to the South through centuries has been an important route for artists of Northern Europe on their visits to Italy.

For the last 4 years Urs Bigler has been going go to the Gotthard on the first day when the road opens for driving in spring. In 2014, the landscape was covered by red Sahara dust. It came with the wind all the way from Africa and it coloured the snow.

Urs Bigler born in 1981 in Lucerne, he works in a variety of genres of photography, ranging from advertising, landscape to fine art photography.