About

Gwagwa is an analogue art movement born in 2022. Olivier and Sophie are the founders of Gwagwa, a collective movement that travels through large-format analogue photography in order to share the different skills we encounter along the way.

We have been working since 2019 with our Afghan Boxes in various formats. We specialize in ultra-large-format color photography. Our largest camera is the Gwagwa Mobile, a 12-ton, 1973 Mercedes truck equipped with lenses and a chemical bath. Throughout our learning journey, we have created and experimented with numerous formats and cameras. We have photographed in 10×12 cm, 20×25 cm, 40×50 cm, and 100×80 cm.

The goal of Gwagwa is to create relationships between different skills and bring analogue workshops and activities to social and cultural organizations. It serves as an pedagogies and educational tool within social structures to remind people of the importance of and to revalue the present moment.

TEAM

Olivier Schlund (Artist, Camera Builder, Portraitist)
Expert technician and builder of our cameras.

Olivier, born and raised in Zurich, Switzerland, currently resides in Rikon im Tösstal. He moved to Winterthur to begin his apprenticeship as a sign painter, successfully completing his exams. Shortly afterward, the twenty-year-old hobby painter packed his backpack and walked from Geneva to the Strait of Gibraltar. In search of a new home where the income from being an artist and autodidact would be enough to live a simple life. After six more months in Africa, Olivier moved to Berlin and began his life as a freelance artist. This was followed by four years in Leipzig, fully dedicated to painting and drawing. He then returned to Berlin, where he entered into a new partnership with Sophie Scheifele. Performance art suddenly became the main focus of his life. For the artist duo, one performance followed another, and a semi-nomadic lifestyle began. To combat the instability of performance art, Sophie and Olivier built their first Afghan Box camera. Olivier became a street portraitist and traveled the world with his handmade analogue cameras, acting as a conservator of moments and reality. At the end of 2022, the construction phase of the truck, in which Olivier lives and works, began.

https://luscus.ch/

Sophie Flash (Artist/Photographer/Portraitist)

Sophie was born in Olargues and currently resides in Soulatge in Corbières, South of France. Sophie Flash is a self-taught photographic artist who specializes in analogue photography with the Afghan Box. For the past six years, she has been practicing and developing this technique alongside her partner Olivier. Between Switzerland and France, she organizes various workshops in which she offers staged photography and practical applications centered around the Afghan Box. Through her work, Sophie aims to highlight the connection between photography and the awareness of the power of an image. She explores how a photograph can become a mirror of the self, thereby fostering social bonds. She is particularly interested in the social and introspective work surrounding self-image: how to count on oneself, how to present oneself in a world where images seem to be losing their soul. Additionally, she founded her company « La Photostop, » which allows her to collaborate with institutions on educational and humanitarian projects.

https://laphotostop.fr/

Helena Reichlin (Social Worker)

Helena grew up in Winterthur, Switzerland, and currently resides in Rikon im Tösstal, in the Canton of Zurich. She completed an apprenticeship in commercial skills (KV) and, after gaining several years of professional experience in administration, hospitality, and social work, began studying social work. Helena completed this program at OST and graduated successfully in 2022. With great passion and enthusiasm, Helena has always been deeply interested in social issues and gained a lot from her studies. She has now been working for almost two years in an institution dedicated to supporting young people and young adults. Through a fully supported housing program, the institution helps individuals from various challenging life situations. The goal is to provide trustworthy and reliable guidance into adulthood. Helena is wholeheartedly committed to the youth and young adults she works with.

COLLABORATION:

Claudio Puntin (Clarinetist, Composer, Improviser, Music Producer, Goldsmith)

The sensuality and soulfulness of improvising people have fascinated Claudio Puntin since his first musical steps, which he took at the age of two on the harmonica. Since then, he has lived the infinity of creativity. He trained as a goldsmith and jewelry designer, and also works as a draughtsman, graphic designer, filmmaker, and instrument inventor. He has transformed the clarinet into his keyboard, his drum kit, and his sound processor. In this way, he creates works for orchestras, choirs, ensembles, electronics, and organically blends acoustic sounds with electronic extensions, preparations, and alternative playing techniques. His sense of contemporary sound costumes brings him together with numerous musicians from the electro-avant-garde scene. His latest solo album, Quantum, is inspired by the superpositions of quantum philosophy, while with the duo essenceofnorth, he explores very puristic chamber music paths. Together with improvising people from all continents, he creates music and art, sharing in image and sound the eternal artistic present.

Instruments: Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Electronics, Alto Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet, Eb Clarinet, Tarogato, Zischboard, Flute, Piano, Percussion, Sound Generators, and more.