CARMEN GRABER
// Carmen, a photographer based in Feldkirch, Austria, has a keen eye for capturing the extraordinary in the ordinary. Carmen’s background in medical and scientific photography has honed her technical skills and attention to detail. However, it is her passion for creative expression that drives her personal projects. In this series, Carmen shows her personal take on the Islamic Cemetery in Altach, Austria.
Carmen finds her passion in architecture, portrait and reportage photography. Her training at the Prager Fotoschule für künstlerische und angewandte Fotografie in Linz, Austria, formed the basis for her unique visual language.
She appreciates the magic of natural light and deliberately works slowly and with concentration to capture the special atmosphere of a moment.
“I am INTERESTED in making you dream about the place.”
Hélène Binet
What draws you to the arts?
Art is a central part of my life. My partner is also an artist, so art is a part of our everyday life, whether we are creating something ourselves or drawing inspiration from exhibitions or books.
What do you like best about this project?
It was my first personal architecture project, and it ignited my passion for this genre. The slow, focused, almost meditative working method that I first experimented with here has since become my established approach.
Now, I photograph everything in this way—it has become my unique style of photography. This is also why this series holds such special significance for me.
The Islamic Cemetery in Altach, Austria was designed by architect Bernardo Bader in 2012, and the art in the prayer room was created by the Austrian artist Azra Akšamija. It offers a unique blend of Islamic and Alpine aesthetics. Bader describes his design as simple yet poetic, a careful interplay of light, shadow, and materials.
Inspired by the work of the Swiss architecture photographer Hélène Binet, Carmen captured the cemetery with a slow, meditative approach, emphasizing the interplay of light and shadow.
In Pascal Bergamin’s documentary series Creative Hands, Hélène Binet says: “And if you ask me, how did you make the decision to add so much detail, to use such extreme light, to be so personal? How did you get to do that? I don’t know. I just felt, this is what I want to do. In the history of photographing space, I often realized that the solution was to use wide angle, color, over saturation (…) And my position, instead of saying everything, I step back. I’m going to say one thing. One experience. It’s not everything, but if you feel one thing, I’m happy.”
Click on the photos to see the original larger version. Images may be cropped for layout.
All photos © CARMEN GRABER
To see more of her work, please visit her website and her Instagram page.
SPECTACULUM MAGAZINE 