With “Im/permanence”, Jörg Bräuer opens up to the philosophical question of continuous change over time. Impermanence is a philosophical concept addressed by various religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy, it is present for its role in the three Buddhist foundations of existence. In Greek philosophy, it appears for the first time in the writings of Heraclitus and his doctrine of “Panta rhei” (everything flows). Although in reality many things seem static, unchanging and materially solid, and this applies as much to our own existence as to monumental natural entities, nevertheless everything is in constant evolution. Jörg Bräuer took this series of photographs on Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier. Located in south-east of Iceland, Vatnajökull is retreating by several hundred meters every year. The artist sought to convey this fundamental principle and make tangible the world that lies behind the world, revealing the fragility and impermanence of things. Changes often occur without our knowledge, over periods of time that exceed our human experience.However, this process is now increasingly perceptible. Supposed stabilities are dissolving at high speed, as we are on the brink of a climate tipping point.

Jörg Bräuer employs a manual silver gelatin emulsification process to create his artistic work. This technique gives to his photographs a distinctive quality, characterized by the imprint of the brush, the irregularities of its passage and the texture of the paper. He works with the dynamics of space in a perfectly mastered composition, in the form of minimalist volumes undergoing metamorphosis. Bräuer’s subtle approach, bordering on abstraction, reveals the dazzling or delicate beauty of the unknown and magical worlds that surround us. He imbues his conceptual approach with a poetic vision of the world, focusing on the alteration of matter over time.