Photography days

In an era of a world of screens coexist with the world of bodies, where individuals make their way through a universe of representations, artificial intelligence and increasingly automated surroundings, the 26th edition of the Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography offers a reflection on how our present society is embodied. When we have robots able to make decisions and autonomous cars that drive themselves, when people can create alter egos to live out experiences by proxy within a metaverse, the line between digital and real-life identities is becoming blurred. Now constantly networked, humans are incessantly confronted with their own image. They are observed, controlled, measured and often confined or forced into exile.

Bodies reshaped, borders redrawn, universes populated by avatars, conquests of new territories, transformations of individual liberties – our experience of the material world is influenced by the virtual one. People navigate representational spaces that make everything seem possible, but which also generate contradictions and conflicts. In a society where what matters most is image, visibility and recognition, we are more and more connected with the outside world but disconnected from the living one. The exhibitions that make up this year’s edition explore such questions of physicality. Over the course of the photographic projects and events, windows are opened from which we can observe our relationship with the world, be it living, physical, virtual or imagined – a world that we inhabit and that we ourselves construct.

As we do every year, the festival is delighted to be collaborating with Swiss and international artists in planning exhibitions, often previously unseen, to be presented in 13 venues across the city. In our next newsletter, we will have the pleasure of announcing our programme for this year. Stay tuned!