A collection of photographs of former border regions around the globe and
down through the course of human history.
“Borders are a means of separation. They separate two sides, defining a
here and a there. But they also delineate what lies within the boundaries,
instilling a sense of safety and security. Although they implicitly stake
a claim to permanence, nothing is as changeable as boundary lines. So it
is ironic that people and entire nations should develop so much pride and
protectionism on the basis of existing borders, while knowing full well
that these are artificial constructs that are constantly changing and
sometimes disappearing altogether.”
– Roger Eberhard
Human Territoriality is a selection of Roger Eberhard's
photographs of former border regions around the globe and down through the
course of human history. Some of these borders have shifted over time, by
only a few hundred meters or much more, due to
climate change or manmade
changes in the
landscape, others have vanished with the fall of mighty
empires on either side. Eberhard's photographs, supplemented by in-depth
captions, help us to grasp the protean puzzle of the world's cartography.
In a time of
mass migration, border walls and spreading nationalism, they
reveal the inherent instability of these man-made demarcations.
Awarded: “Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2020”.
Roger Eberhard (born 1984 in Zurich, lives and works in Berlin and Zurich)
studied
photography at the
Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California, and at the
Zurich University of the Arts.