«As a Symbol, Incorruptible»
«As a symbol I can be incorruptible», says Batman (Batman Begins, 2005). But even an incorruptible symbol has to eat now and then, take a shower or visit the loo. That such everyday things do a superhero no harm, you, dear reader, know best of all. Swiss photographer Sebastian Magnani has shot a whole series of Batman scenes – on a golf course, or in a Porsche outside a fast-food joint. This picture – «Daily Bat – Spaghetti Al Pomodoro», inkjet print, signed and numbered – can be bought as a print. Or you ask the much-awarded Magnani, whose work hangs in renowned galleries around the globe, whether he might photograph you. Magnani lives and works, feet firmly on the ground, in Uitikon-Waldegg (ZH) – anything but unreachable. Aren’t we all superheroes in our spare moments? sebastianmagnani.com
Boarder on the Rocks
No, this isn’t the view through an ice-cold vodka of a boarder by a bridge on the sea. It’s a wakeboarder on a sea of ice. Energy-drink giant Red Bull is famous for spurring its ambassadors to feats that defy comprehension. Wakeboarders Felix Georgii, Dominik Gührs and Dominik Hernler duly travelled to Sweden, north of the Arctic Circle. All three are medal-winning elite athletes – on flowing water. But in icy northern Sweden, they and their crew built an obstacle course from ten tonnes of ice blocks, which they first had to cut from the ice. In temperatures down to minus 32 degrees. Six-millimetre neoprene suits shielded them from the cold. Yet boarding over the icy water and a few obstacles wasn’t enough – they wanted to go under, too. There are photos (by Red Bull Illume overall winner Lorenz Holder) showing daredevil Georgii being towed through the water beneath the ice. Afterwards, Gührs, Georgii and Hernler raved that they’d never done anything like it. We’d never have thought of it. Please don’t try this at home.
Never Underestimate Women
This is Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, better known as Hedy Lamarr (†2000). The outfit she wears here is timeless; the photo of the Viennese girl who became a Hollywood star dates from the 1940s. Just as timeless is the invention Hedy Lamarr helped create during the Second World War. Together with composer George Antheil she developed a frequency-hopping technique that could shield radio-guided torpedoes from jamming. The actress had picked up her knowledge of torpedoes partly as the young wife of arms manufacturer Friedrich Mandl, who forbade her film career and dragged her along to business meetings instead. Patented in 1942 under US number 2,292,387, the technique was never put to use. But when companies began exploring wireless communication in the 1990s, the patent came into play – mobile networks, Bluetooth devices and Wi-Fi still rest on it today. Men still claim multitasking can’t be done. Hedy Lamarr proved that you can stand around at a cocktail party, hold a glass of champagne and learn something essential for your own future at the same time.
Peekaboo!
No, we absolutely do not want to encourage anyone to copy this. As few people as possible should travel to the mountain-gorilla regions of the Bwindi rainforest merely to glimpse these threatened giants of our world – even if safari packages exist. No. It’s enough for photographers like Brice Tribollet to do so, taking days on end and waiting for the one moment when a silverback grants its presence. Such images matter, to show that these animals still exist – but also to say: kindly leave them in peace. With this work, titled «Hide & Seek», Geneva’s Brice Tribollet made the shortlist in the Open Competition category of the 2022 Sony World Photography Awards. And that although he, who has made wildlife his passion, has only been photographing for three years. There are other ways to do something for the mountain gorillas – for instance, supporting Dian Fossey’s foundation (gorillafund.org). The team – Dian Fossey herself was brutally murdered in 1985 – risks a great deal to keep the mountain gorillas from extinction. Successfully so far, but only with financial help. Best of all, join the Leadership Circle as a donor or symbolically adopt an animal; then you may occasionally travel to the protected regions yourself and, in Uganda, Rwanda or the Congo, perhaps come face to face with an animal as beautiful as Rwamutwe. But only then, please. bricevisuals.com
This article appeared in MEN issue 1/23 (June 2023).
