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Mathias Bothor – Brittany
“Brittany. Where the tides beat the shore with a vengeance, where houses bow in surrender before the storms and America is seemingly just beyond the horizon, where the Atlantic is the dominant force. Turning its back on Europe and heedless to the people on land, Brittany opens up to the sea. Nowhere is the sea nearer, nowhere is its power, size and influence more perceivable – the elemental. All is reduced to the basics, stripped of all that distracts. Eyes gaze into the distance, to the horizon: Mind-changing for Europeans, increasingly aware of their ability to sail the Atlantic. The horizon fuelled their curiosity, their drive to discover and explore. It brought within reach the possibility of escaping across the ocean into freedom from hunger and persecution by church and state. Uncertainty and apprehension about life beyond their vision had previously been the norm. How narrow and fearful must the European mind have been before they began to discover the New World a mere 600 years or so ago? How liberating must their experience have been to finally realise that there is more to this earthly existence, that there is hope and a future. All this becomes so immediately apparent on the coastline of this Breton peninsula in northern France. Mathias Bothor, the Berlin photographer, noted for his portrayals of well-known contemporaries of the likes of Angela Merkel, Robert de Niro or Jodie Foster, has traveled the length and breadth of Brittany ten times for the mare Verlag. No easy task. He was challenged to photograph the inhabitants in his distinctive black and white style, while capturing in colour the fields, coastline or the region´s villages. Over the time, however, he grew more familiar with the people, gained their trust and in the end produced portraits of astonishing intensity. While travelling he drew closer to the rugged Breton landscape so as to create an aura of the cinematic in his photographic work. It is apparent how he struggles to capture the headstrong characters of the people of Aremorica and the charm of the harsh coastal scenery. Bothor accomplishes this perfectly and always with unusual insights. The familiar is discovered anew and clichés banished."
Nikolas Gelpke
mare publishing house
“Brittany. Where the tides beat the shore with a vengeance, where houses bow in surrender before the storms and America is seemingly just beyond the horizon, where the Atlantic is the dominant force. Turning its back on Europe and heedless to the people on land, Brittany opens up to the sea. Nowhere is the sea nearer, nowhere is its power, size and influence more perceivable – the elemental. All is reduced to the basics, stripped of all that distracts. Eyes gaze into the distance, to the horizon: Mind-changing for Europeans, increasingly aware of their ability to sail the Atlantic. The horizon fuelled their curiosity, their drive to discover and explore. It brought within reach the possibility of escaping across the ocean into freedom from hunger and persecution by church and state. Uncertainty and apprehension about life beyond their vision had previously been the norm. How narrow and fearful must the European mind have been before they began to discover the New World a mere 600 years or so ago? How liberating must their experience have been to finally realise that there is more to this earthly existence, that there is hope and a future. All this becomes so immediately apparent on the coastline of this Breton peninsula in northern France. Mathias Bothor, the Berlin photographer, noted for his portrayals of well-known contemporaries of the likes of Angela Merkel, Robert de Niro or Jodie Foster, has traveled the length and breadth of Brittany ten times for the mare Verlag. No easy task. He was challenged to photograph the inhabitants in his distinctive black and white style, while capturing in colour the fields, coastline or the region´s villages. Over the time, however, he grew more familiar with the people, gained their trust and in the end produced portraits of astonishing intensity. While travelling he drew closer to the rugged Breton landscape so as to create an aura of the cinematic in his photographic work. It is apparent how he struggles to capture the headstrong characters of the people of Aremorica and the charm of the harsh coastal scenery. Bothor accomplishes this perfectly and always with unusual insights. The familiar is discovered anew and clichés banished."
Nikolas Gelpke
mare publishing house
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