The portraiture works of Christian Scholz form the sum of his long-standing analysis of the portrayal of people in Switzerland. This includes an increasing concentration with frontal perspectives, profiles, three-quarter and full-length portraits, etc. But equally a preoccupation with the portrait as a mystery and an enigma. And this about much more than simply the much-cited “unique moment”.

The complete corpus, now finished, is called „501 – Corpus of Portraits Switzerland. An artistic programm“. The four groups of works cover the period from 1990 to 2020 and bring together portraits from the four regions of Switzerland, from the highlands and the lowlands, from urban and rural regions. It contains portrayals of all age groups as well as portraits that can be assigned to a variety of occupational groups, those which “illuminate” a specific theme (for example „Jewish portraits“, „Countenance and hand“, „Reflextions“), and those which offer a very personal perspective (for example: „At the lake of Geneva“, „Woman of the Engadin“). A very fine first outlook was finished 2018, called „Selection 192“.

But it is neither a beautification of Switzerland nor a field study. Both, „192“ and the complete corpus „501“, is guided by the principle of selection difference, reduction and reference. It is, however, also clearly focussed on transformation and identity. The works express respect for the living and towards the anomalous. Planning and chance were its constant companions. And some portraits arose in advance, without a camera. They only had to be “redeemed” at a later point. The corpus was created exclusively in black and white, with an analogue camera, without assistance or a tripod and always in natural light, whether they were shot indoors or outside.

Dr. Roger Fayet, Director of the Swiss Institute for Art Research (SIK-ISEA Zurich/Lausanne), gives this appraisal of the group of works of the Corpus of Portraits Switzerland: “It represents an almost encyclopaedic overall project, quite unique in its intent – to present a picture of Switzerland through the medium of photographic portraits.”

Uli Sigg, 3th group of works, series: Art Collectiors