On first glance, Darren Almond’s photographs seem to reveal a classic image pattern. This British photographer (born 1971) created his 2014 Amalfi Sketchbook in the style of Carl Blechen, a prominent representative of German early realist art, and the landscape drawings which he produced in South Italy in 1830. Almond has transferred Blechen’s masterly sketches of narrow alleys flooded with light, picturesque groups of trees and scenic architecture into photography. His monumental photographs, mainly taken during full moon, were produced using time exposure, giving them a sense of timelessness. As visual revenants, they seem to contain time itself and convey a sense of mystery. In Graz, Almond’s photographs are presented in juxtaposition with pages from Austrian landscape painter Thomas Ender’s Italian Sketchbook, created between 1819 and 1823. Like Blechen, Ender combined artistic skill with a scientific interest in topographical conditions.
