ARNE SCHMITZ19.04 - 25.04.1973

Galerie S:t Petri
S:t Petri Kyrkogata 5, Lund 046/14 78 00

Opening Thursday, 19 April 1973, 17:00–20:00
ARNE SCHMITZ
Weekdays, 19–26 April, 15:00–20:00
Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, 12:00–17:00

The landscape is not static, nor has it ever been. Natural changes occur constantly, in rhythm with climate shifts and other external influences. However, human interventions in the soil cause transformations to happen faster and with far more profound effects. In Skåne, almost every square meter is marked by human activity, both in the present and in the past. Even if we are aware that major upheavals have taken place since the dawn of history, we perceive today’s exploitation of natural resources as particularly destructive. Advanced technology and a predominantly economic perspective subject the landscape to brutal treatment, both through direct interventions and through subtle, general changes. The need for nature—for our well-being, recreation, and health—is either ignored or neglected in all-too short-sighted planning.

Skåne, with its extraordinarily rich and varied natural environment, is under threat, especially in its western parts, which are almost completely exploited for housing, industry, and communications. The changes are obvious and drastic. The photographs in the exhibition seek to reflect this and do so by partially contrasting the untouched with the disturbed, the beautiful with the ugly, the old with the new. The “before-and-after” dimension can, in some cases, also be illuminating. The images, each in their own way, speak for themselves, but perhaps also pose the question: “What are we really doing to Skåne?”