WC - World Citizen
By (Author) Gustav Willeit
Text by Nadine Isabelle Henrich
Damiani
Damiani
20th July 2023
Italy
General
Non Fiction
Individual photographers
Nature in art
Conservation of the environment
779.36092
Hardback
160
Width 300mm, Height 245mm
1360g
WC. World Citizen presents photographs taken by Gustav Willeit while traveling across Italy, China, Japan, California, Iceland, and Uganda. Every corner of the planet hides traces of the past, and Willeit perfectly captures these evanescent memories. Regardless of latitude and longitude, the presence of humans, civilizations and anthropogenic interventions in natural ecosystems has caused an exceptionally rapid loss of biodiversity. And yet he is aware that humanity does not own Earth, and never has - despite the fact we have always thought so. An awareness reflected in pictures depicting how our home has become more and more of a precarious habitation. The book is a journey delving into nature's folds and cracks, increasingly impacted by humanity's arrogant stewardship. We are WCs: world citizens, as described by Japanese composer Sakamoto. And yet as WCs we run the risk of, slowly but inexorably, transforming into another WC of lesser noble nature.
Born in Brunico in the Dolomites, photographer Gustav Willeit seems fascinated by vertiginous landscapes. He studied at the prestigious photography school of art F+F Schule fr Kunst und Design in Zurich, then worked as a photographer's assistant before launching his freelance career in 2006. His photographs have been exhibited in many solo and collective exhibitions in Europe.