south america

patagonia the second. in the south american early summer of 2010/11, i was lucky enough to be able to go on another patagonia tour. to really explore every single one of my mountain themes, 10 – 12 days is not enough for me (even if you could experience all four seasons within this short time span).
it is very important for me to be able to be “on site” several times over the course of several years. i am not only interested in capturing different possible views in drawings. what is most important for me is the wandering experience of the entire landscape context. i cannot repeat this process of experiencing often enough.

the diverse landscapes of patagonia and fireland were my excursion destination in 2007.
martin gusinde’s photographs of the last surviving fireland indians and some historical sound recordings of cult songs, especially those of the selk’nam indians, which the composer michael fahres used in his works, have fascinated me for years.

intensive preparations finally led to the realization of my dream to hike through the regions that had been inhabited by the indians of patagonia and fireland until the beginning of the 20th century.

of course, i didn´t want to miss the torres del paine, the blue mountains  –  as the tehuelche indians called these fascinating and unique mountains, and the smoking mountain, el chaltén – which is now called monte fitz roy. these main attractions for mountaineers from all over the world were the picturesque focus of my trip.

what impressed me most, however, were the calm, yet windswept bays of tierra del fuego and the surrounding islands with their numerous resting places full of shell mounds of the yamaná people.