Icons | Jojakim Cortis & Adrian Sonderegger | Granta Magazine

It’s not uncommon for historical moments to be ensnared in works of art; images that become transformed through news and media into symbols which are widely accepted as moment of global change. Photography is unique in its ability to document – very tangibly – that exact fraction of a second, leaving an ‘authentic record of fact’.

Through extensive research and historical study, artists Jojakim Cortis and Adrian Sonderegger have created Icons, a series of images that remake these symbolic moments, openly presenting not only the moment but also the construction of the set in their studio. Each in-depth recreation is presented as a finely detailed studio reenactment, with the tools of their trade clearly visible in the image.

By revealing their process, the artists explore the ways in which photography has, in fact, lost its last shred of authenticity with the development of changeable digital structures. Cortis & Sonderegger make the premise that there is truth left in photography more doubtful than ever before.

 

Cortis & Sonderegger will be exhibiting from 21 to 25 April at the Festival International de Mode et de Photographie in Hyères and at East Wing in Dubai from 14 April to the 26 May.

Cortis & Sonderegger

Cortis & Sonderegger are a Swiss photographic duo: Jojakim Cortis and Adrian Sonderegger. Their collaborative work began during their studies at ZHDK in 2005. Collectively they conceive and manufacture surreal worlds in their compositions of ‘staged’ photography.

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