Virginie Otth, *01_Quotidiennetés*, 2013-2023 © Virginie Otth

Written by: Max Wiener

Virginie Otth has one of the most unique voices in contemporary photography. Her camera is more or less a portal, and through the looking glass we are taken to worlds far beyond our own. These worlds, however, often allow us to obscure our perception of our current zeitgeist. Otth’s works, moreover, often allow us to leave her exhibitions with a newfound sense of realism. Her newest exhibition, Un lanc dens l’oeil, translated to “A lake in the eye”, reaffirms both the artist’s profound photographic ability and avant-garde stance on the medium’s overarching meaning. The camera, in Otth’s world, is merely the beginning of individual artistic exploration. With Otth, we are more inclined for personal autonomy in both what we see and interpret.

Virginie Otth, *30_Quotidiennetés*, 2013-2023 © Virginie Otth

Otth’s vision is to solely capture the things that are perhaps overlooked by the mundane eye, as her lens gives them beauty. A fingernail or body of water can become an unavoidable magnet of artistic attraction- possessing a gravitational pull like that of a distant planet. Otth’s true mastery of her medium is what allows her to amplify these inanimate voices. In doing so, her work mirrors real-life. Otth’s work presents us with a captivating take on the medium as a vehicle for both the real and present. Within them, Otth challenges us to find the truth in photography as a whole. Is what we’re looking at the truth or merely an augmented version of it? How does a photograph convey the truth of the world it's captured in?

Virginie Otth, *39_Quotidiennetés*, 2013-2023 © Virginie Otth

Accompanying Otth’s photographic work in Un Lanc Sens L’oeil is her 2021 film L’Orage. It is a masterful look at Otth’s ability to create a kaleidoscopic oeuvre with pictures, despite moving. Like her other work, the film places importance on the romanticization of inanimate, regular objects. Our lives become works of art if we look at everything through the creator’s perspective. L’Orage, as a whole, makes a spectacle out of the ordinary, while providing a striking paradigm of enjoyment.

Virginie Otth, *13_Quotidiennetés*, 2013-2023 © Virginie Otth

One of Otth’s most profound works is entitled Quotidiennetés. Here, we see an oyster with a remarkable resemblance to the human ear. It presents perhaps the most Otth-like piece in the series. At first glance, it leaves you both puzzled and entranced. Your initial look will have you thinking it’s one thing. However, a more intense examination will bend your mind as a testament to Otth’s ability. Within her lens, she warps the sense of reality we all have become accustomed to, while creating a metaphor for the world with one singular photograph. Otth, all in all, challenges modern audiences to look further into things before discovering our own version of the truth. Only then, will it all make sense.

Presented at Lausanne’s Photo Elyse, Un lanc dens l’oeil has a scheduled closing date of February 25.