Camera Museum, Vevey (CH)

24 June – 17 August 2025

2025 has been designated the International Year for Glacier Preservation by UNESCO. Time is running out: global warming is causing the glaciers of the Alps to melt. The future prospects are alarming: an estimated 70% of the mass of Swiss glaciers will have disappeared by the end of the century.

Since 2004, to slow glacial melting, white geotextiles have been laid on limited areas of several glaciers during the summer in the Alps across France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy. While this measure has proven effective, it also alters the landscape and environment, as remnants of tarps are sometimes left behind.

Many photographers act as witnesses to these transformations and invite us to pay particular attention to these fabrics: they conceal frozen areas to protect them, but they also reveal the necessity of acting to preserve the Alpine glaciers. Debates on this protective measure are ongoing. One thing is certain: only a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions provides a sustainable and widespread solution.

The selection of photographs presented on Vevey's quayside, by 16 international photographers, invites us to reflect on these ephemeral landscapes. They mark a stage in the life of glaciers and reflect our relationship with the world conflicted between the desire to extend winter tourism and the need to find sustainable solutions in the face of climate change.
Through the various perspectives on these covered glaciers, between direct approach and artistic process, this exhibition highlights a landscape in transition, one that we can no longer turn a blind eye to.