Mountains have long fascinated both artists and photographers. A companion to the Swiss photography festival Alt. +1000, held in the foothills of the Alps, High Altitude features works by contemporary photographers of mountains in their various and continually changing states. It celebrates and challenges deeply rooted myths about Switzerland’s defining feature and, by extension, about mountains and mountain ranges worldwide. What remains of the myths linked to mountains? How do perceptions of them shift as their populations disappear, and cultural references are increasingly centered on an urban existence? What effect is climate change having on mountains? Including a new work by Olaf Otto Becker, renowned for his views of Greenland, High Altitude provides some of the answers to these questions.

Nathalie Herschdorfer, curator and art historian, specializes in photography. Director of the festival Alt. +1000, she was previously a curator at the Musée de l’Elysée, Switzerland.