Portrait photography in Tyrol: A look behind the scenes of unique faces

Portrait photography in Tyrol: A look behind the scenes of unique faces

The Innsbruck photographer Thomas Schrott has created an impressive testimony with his project about Tyrol's people. After meeting the 95-year-old farmer Detta Senfter in 2019, he began to grasp the faces behind the stories. Schrott, who previously often hesitated, to address strangers, still finds the courage to photograph the multifaceted population of the federal state. "I don't want to serve clichés," he says, and rather show the real Tyroleans in their diversity, as the orf reports.

It is particularly noteworthy to portray people who are often excluded from the social narrative. Among his models are a dermatologist from Sri Lanka and a miner who have their very own life story. "The portraits are not only special, they are normal people with their challenges and dreams," explains Schrott. His work was enriched with sensitive texts by the Tyrolean journalist Rebecca Sandbichler, which gives the pictures a deeper dimension. This shows how playfully he deals with the topic and at the same time appeals critical points of the Tyrolean society, according to the Hanser Verlag .

A look into the sky

parallel to Schrott's ambitious project, Raoul Schrott publishes his "Atlas the starry sky and creation myths of humanity". This magnificent band analyzes the heavenly secrets and the cultural background of our mythological ideas. Many reviewers praise the Atlas because of its brilliant illustrations and the captivating presentation. "A festival of looking and amazement", describes the NZZ .

Both artists show the diversity and deep of Tyrol in their own way, once in the view of his people and once in exploring his sky. Both works challenge the viewer not only to look at the usual, but to discover the extraordinary in normal. In the portrait series of scrap and the star atlas of scrap, an impressive interaction between earth and heavenly topics can be seen that takes the audience on a visual journey.