The Auer Ory Foundation for Photography presents the exhibition Philippe Gross: Honolulu–Pau Hana.
As a teenager, unable to find his place in Swiss society, Philippe Gross nourished the dream of sailing to distant horizons with three friends. At the same time, he had a passion: photography. The first indication of his talent came when he won first prize in photography at secondary school, an achievement confirmed by winning a second prize in Opticien Suisse magazine. Although he considers his photographic skills at the time modest, one should not underestimate the power of recognition, especially when one feels lost in a meaningless world – these two awards crystallized his identity as a photographer that he had developed since the age of 8, when he received his first camera.
In 1984, he started a trip across Europe, including three months spent with a friend in the Azores archipelago. On his return to the mainland, he endured the worst seven days of seasickness of his life, thus dashing his dream of being a sea explorer, although the last six days were free of illness and marked by mysticism, including a night alone on the bridge under a starry sky, accompanied by a pod of dolphins and a superb moonrise. These experiences confirm that there was more to life than daily monotony.
A year later, he moved to Honolulu to learn English. This experience turned into a long-term stay of 40 years, during which he obtained a doctorate in psychology. Encouraged by his thesis director, he combined two passions: photography and transpersonal psychology from the point of view of Tchouang-tseu (a Taoist sage).
This resulted in a major work entitled The Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing, co-written with his mentor, Professor S. I. Shapiro.
Later he worked as a researcher and then became professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii.
Over the years, Dr. Gross continued photography, which he considered a meditative practice, and in 2018, he co-founded the HNL Street Collective with other street photography enthusiasts. Although a solitary practice, the collective injected new energy into his passion, placing particular emphasis on “Street photography” and the distribution of images through social networks.
This exhibition offers a glimpse into how Gross seeks to transcend each everyday moments by transforming them into an experience that is poetic, surreal, humorous and full of wonder.
The images on display are relatively recent, covering a period of around 15 years on the island.
Philippe Gross: Honolulu–Pau Hana
Exhibition open by appointment
from May 23 to August 31, 2024
Auer Ory Foundation for Photography
Rue du Couchant 10
1248 Hermance, Switzerland
www.auerphoto.com
Exhibition notebooks:
Philippe Gross – Notebook n°38
Auer Ory Foundation for Photography Collection
64 pages / 59 b/w color biography and monograph
Price: 24 CHF
Texts by Philippe Gross and Michèle Auer Ory
