Augmented Photography

Photography has contributed, throughout its history, to building up a framework of knowledge based on an ability to demonstrate visibly, and therefore objectively, the reality of things. The widespread nature of digital imagery – images that have been created, processed, disseminated or stored as digital data – has led us to review critically the precision of our gaze. In the past, photographic images were deemed to be trustworthy and irrefutable documents. They have now become malleable and plausible data that we instantly assimilate into our visual habits. Since the 1990s, this development has given rise to considerable discussion about the nature of photographic realism, and a questioning of entire areas of activity. The digital creation of images has been accompanied by their manipulation in ways that are similar to painting, sculpture and, more analytically, the computer sciences. In this respect, Web 2.0, by facilitating in the circulation of ideas, things and persons at unprecedented speed, has further accelerated a process that began with the advent of the Internet.

This research project allowed us to experiment with new practices and analyse the positions adopted by influential actors, such as photographers, critics and curators.

It offered participants conceptual and practical tools to allow them to position themselves in hyper-connected environments.

In the absence of any master’s degrees in photography in Switzerland, this research helps provide a robust theoretical framework and a way of keeping abreast of the shifting nature of the discipline.