Claus Rohland: It is the traveller only who is foreign

Paraphrasing the famous author of Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson, who said that ‘there are no foreign lands. It is the traveller only who is foreign’, the exhibition title points to the fact that the only truly exotic elements in distant lands are the ones visiting them. Now, decades of patination have transformed photographs from Claus Rohland’s road trips in the Middle East, making them genuinely unique and – in their very own way – emphatically exotic works.

The exhibited images are based on photographs taken on two different trips undertaken by Rohland in 1975 and 1977; the former to Egypt, the latter to Turkey, Iraq and Syria. These are snapshots of everyday life. With his keenly honed feel for big issues reflected in small things, Rohland has photographed whatever happened to catch and appeal to his eye. He did not go for the familiar, famous monuments, opting instead for momentary glimpses of the unknown.

The examples are as diverse as they are numerous. In Egypt, he has captured a fleeting second as a densely crowded boat disembarks somewhere on the Nile. The sun’s rays are reflected in the water and in the camera lens, and one pair of eyes among many meet the photographer’s gaze. In Syria, a piece of meat on a hook in a drowsy butcher’s shop has been immortalised.

Now, these photographs have become works of art. While in storage in a Copenhagen cellar, they have undergone a metamorphosis, prompting Rohland to once again seize the moment. What was once a slide show intended for friends and acquaintances has been transformed by humidity and fluctuating temperatures. The changes, augmented by judicious enlargement and cropping, have turned the pictures into mirages and dreamlike visions. Welcome to another world!

The exhibition is on display until April 9, 2023.

An exhibition catalogue can be purchased in the museum shop at a price of DKK 100. An exhibition poster is sold for DKK 40.

Contact museum curator Peter Wandel for further information about the exhibition at [email protected].