–win / Erwin Staeheli
Born 1955 in Basel, Switzerland

Erwin Staeheli studied art in Basel, Switzerland.
After a period of painting he changed to
photography. From 1980 to 1994 he worked
as a civil engineer, planning and supervising roadwork, concrete constructions and
water supply systems. Since 1995 he has
worked as an art photographer.
He lives in Switzerland and four months out
of the year in Australia where he digs for sapphires and takes photographs as well. Physical work
is essential for his artwork. That's one of
the reasons he prefers to use the medium and
large format cameras and why he prints
on fibre-based papers in his own laboratory.

Twelve of his solo exhibitions have been held
in Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Japan
and USA. His photography has been
published in «exposé», featuring pictures
of the Jura mountain range.

The photographs are inspired by the tension
between urban life and nature. Of his compo-
sitions, Staeheli explains, «Watching the pictures
one might become contemplative. What's
the meaning of work? What am I doing here?
There's always an exit on the pictures following
the source of the light. It's not a really safe exit.
But it makes you move on.»