Philipp Meuser
Waiting For Buyan
Between the 7th and the 12th centuries, the island today known as Rügen was the main cult site for the West Slavic tribe Rani. 800 years ago the Slavs were evicted by the Christians and moved away from the island, taking most of their – now almost forgotten – stories and beliefs with them. Today most of the cult site has broken into the sea due to erosion.
The part Archeology depicts the scientific and historical background to the possible birth of myths. The images capture places that were used as religious sites in the past but have different meanings today.
Historic Landscapes analyzes the alleged naturalness of the landscape as well as its changing influence on history and archeology. One such example is the case of the Jasmund National Park. Once it was a mixed forest by the sea that fell victim to deforestation in order to give a home to Slavic temples and infrastructure. As a result, a beech forest developed which today is declared a national park.
The photographs show the shoreline and cliffs formed by erosion, which led to the disappearance of the historic religious center.
The part Myths traces the legends about the landscape. Even though Rügen played a considerable role in Slavic history, it is still not clear whether it is indeed the legendary island of Buyan. Some of the many Russian and Slavic legends surrounding Buyan hold that Buyan is the center of the Universe. They also say that the island is the source of all kinds of weather, and the seeds of all living things are stored here. Some suggest that it holds the Stone of Wisdom. According to a Russian legend, Buyan can appear and disappear with the help of tides.
The series Fake Nature depicts an idealized form of nature, predominantly in the context of tourism. While being a commentary on the embellished language of legends, the artificial landscape also reflects the contemporary status of the island being spiritually poor.
Philipp Meuser (Germany, 1986) studied Photography at the University of Applied Science, in Hamburg, with Prof. Ute Mahler, Prof. Vincent Kohlbecher and Prof. Linn Schroeder. He realised recent photographic projects in Israel, Spain and the USA. In 2015 he self-published the photobook Kadosh with Cale Garrido. Besides various group exhibitions, the work Paradox County (with Kolja Warnecke) has been exhibited in a solo show at Galerie Gudberg Nerger. His new work Neorrurales has been shown at the Chamber of Commerce Hamburg, in 2016. Philipp lives and works in Hamburg, Germany.