Friedrich’s work plays around the edges of Schrägle’s photographs; there is the same atmosphere of poised ambivalence. Schrägle speaks of the “loneliness” brought on by mist, but also of its ability to offer a sense of security. In his image of a ski chalet in winter mist, we cannot tell if the hut is a longed-for destination or a shelter which has just been left. Schrägle’s work, like Friedrich’s, reminds us that mist is a meteorology of the mind: it changes the way we experience the world, leaving us mystified.
Pictured: Ruhestein, Germany, December 2010
“I was amazed how slow it seemed when the people moved in the mist. A kind of super-slow motion. And I felt totally alone as the voices seemed to be far away. I like to think the images reflect this silence. We saw a few different people. They were skiing and snowboarding, yet they hardly seemed to move”
