Dominic Büttner – Dreamscapes
Scheidegger and Spiess
Dreamscapes is a more than suitable term to depict the oeuvre of the Swiss photographer Dominic Büttner, one that is comprised of performances that have been accumulated and captured over an extensive period both at night and day in a myriad of contexts au naturel and in contextualised built environments.
Minimalist in nature, Dominic Büttner has developed an idiosyncratic approach to shooting photos and framing them in an otherworldly manner. In essence, he is only employing a flashlight and a large-format camera from which he moves away and by using time exposure he gradually erases himself from the equation.
What results are strangely captivating depictions of often trivial surroundings that he gives additional layers with how he makes use of light or the absence thereof.
The over eighty Dreamscapes are elaborated on via essays by photography luminaries, who with their expertise manage to open one’s horizon for the finer details that might have otherwise gone amiss.
A fascinating book that made me want to delve deeper into Dominic Büttner’s body of work and one that looks fantastic as an adornment to any coffee table. Apart from its aesthetic merits, the book should be interesting for anyone remotely interested in the art of photography as it exemplifies techniques to capture details with limited lighting.
