«Fields», an ode to Swiss farmers

5 reading minutes

written by Jonas Follonier · 06 April 2021 · 0 comment

Featuring photographs by Patrick Gilliéron Lopreno and texts by Slobodan Despot, Fields sheds light on the fate of today's Swiss farmer. The book, published on March 11 by Olivier Morattel, is a brilliant artistic and human adventure on the borderline between realism and romanticism.

«Just two generations ago, Switzerland was a world of farmers. Now, in a territory that is increasingly cramped and paved over, each farmer is a world unto themselves. Yet they continue, despite the difficulties and the loneliness, to cultivate the land and raise living creatures in harmony with the seasons. It is no longer a profession, nor a way of life. It is a calling.» So reads the back cover of an object as unusual as it is elegant—one whose cover, in fact, is worth noting. Made of gray fabric with an embossed title, it serves as a modest yet promising showcase for an art book with a striking layout (24×33 cm, with plenty of white space—like so many silences).

We are drawn into the book by Vivaldi’s music and the words of Slobodan Despot, following the four seasons. Despot’s words are also notes, of course, for the novelist-journalist-publisher wields the musicality of language as few others do, whether here or elsewhere. Personal anecdotes and spiritual reflections come together to form a joyful accompaniment to the photographs by Patrick Gilliéron Lopero, capturing the Swiss Plateau and those who keep the country fed: the farmers.

The farmers, their landscapes, and their tools are presented to the reader-viewer in a panoramic format—that is, twice as wide as usual. This format is made possible by the legendary Hasselblad XPAN camera using film. Despot’s texts enrich the free and inspired perspective we bring to Lopreno’s magnificent photographs, such as this delightful description of the winter plains:

«Since the dawn of time, winter has fulfilled its role as a nurturer. Nature does not sleep; it plots. Beneath the frozen crust, it stealthily deploys its forces for the spring offensive. The sun’s angle, a slight warming, or some other secret signal will give the go-ahead for the maneuver. From that point on, the advancing invasion can no longer be stopped.»

The different seasons of the year follow one another, and with them, a good hundred pages. We admire the shadows of trees as evening falls, stormy skies over isolated paths, wheat stalks bent by the wind, animal silhouettes on the horizon, and above all, of course, the heroes of everyday life—with weathered skin, deep gazes, and unvarnished truth. We come to understand that Patrick Lopreno’s photographic work requires the same resources as farming: light and a great deal of effort.

Ultimately, we see that the romanticism to which Slobodan Despot succumbs in his reflections—particularly through what could be perceived as an idealization of the peasant figure—inevitably clashes with the realism that the two friends have adopted as their philosophical compass for addressing their subject. But this paradox is not a problem, insofar as romanticism and realism, nostalgia and lucidity, the past and the present can be experienced together. This simply requires a great deal of sensitivity. There is no doubt that Fields is full of them in every nook and cranny.

Note that there is an exhibition «CHAMPS» is currently on view at the «L’Atelierphoto» gallery in Nyon. It features the most beautiful photographs from the book of the same name. On view through May 23.

Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com