Come back to earth

An artist-in-residence, Ruth Buck’s current body of work is an expedition and aims to experience India through an uninhibited look. The focus is on the ground, on which we stand with our own two feet. [dated 2012]

Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council presents Swiss artist Ruth Buck who is currently on a residency in India. Project: come back to earth Foto installation, foto prints on barite paper, size each: 2.75 feet x 2feet (a body of 300 images) 

Ruth Buck’s current body of work <<come back="" to="" earth=""></come>> is an expedition and aims to experience India through an uninhibited look. The focus is on the ground, on which we stand with our own two feet. The ground that we step on daily and unconsciously speaks volumes about the society and its conditions and its relation to public spaces. Conspicuous in each photograph is the inclusion of Ruth’s own foot, bringing to each visual, a feeling of a personal experience, a close encounter and an experience of an intimate nature. What does the ground tell us about itself and abut society at large? It talks about... people, habits, culture, believes, needs, pleasure, beauty, fears, ideals, hopes....difficulties...... 

The effect and impact of these images totally changes when they are up on the wall right in front of our faces. A hard hitting reality that one more than often misses because it’s usually not in our field of vision. Ruth will be at her studio at Sanskriti Foundation, New Delhi until 31 March 2012.  

An iaab exchange artist, Ruth Buck will be working on an audio-visual art project. She will be recording sounds in public spaces and then creating an audio data in the studio. In her works, Ruth goes beyond the margins of art genres and operates in different art media. She produces tactile works, conceptual works with words, photo light boxes that are objects in the space and sounds that create soundscapes. 

Artist's statement: 
My residency in India has been an important phase in my journey as an artist. The experience has been enriching and immensely inspiring. It has given me a totally different view to my own culture. Through cultural differences and difficulties I learnt a lot and feel that I have grown, not just as an individual but as an artist. The outcome is that I now have a different perspective to my own culture. My work happens in the arena where my personal concern and society meet. Questions about of human existence in general and its orientation make me and my work move.