Joerg Glaescher: Twelve Waves by Markus Runte

Twelve Waves-the simple title points out the number but not the type of waves Jörg Gläscher introduces in this book. In terms of physicality, a wave is an undulation that spreads out periodically, or a disturbance of equilibrium. Gläscher's "waves" are the antithesis of this. Made with found, broken pieces of wood, these "standing" waves are sculptures constructed in the forest. These wooden waves are both the expression and the result of a long phase of unaccustomed silence, contemplation, doubt, and uncertainty, which arose during the lockdown that occurred as the first wave of the novel coronavirus swept the globe in 2019. For Jörg Gläscher, the forest was a refuge during this span of time. Out of his experiences and explorations of nature emerged ideas that led him away from his usual field of documentary photography and toward the twelves waves in this book. These pieces expand beyond the medium of photography (to which he devoted himself after studying under Professor Timm Rautert at the HGB Leipzig) but do not abandon it entirely. He documents his sculptures in photographs that contrast the isolated atmosphere of the forest with dynamic wave formations, making it possible at last to perceive the waves in all of their might and mystery.