Laurence Rasti
Wall as Horizon
Supported by the Neuchâtel Photographic Investigation Grant 2023
Swiss / Iranian artist Laurence Rasti recently launched a new series and publication titled, ‘Wall as Horizon.’ The series was made with support from the Neuchâtel Photographic Investigation Grant 2023 and is presently on exhibit for the first time at The Musée des Beaux-Arts Le Locle MBAL in Switzerland, as part of the group exhibition “PR3 – Prison, Protest, Print” – the eleventh Triennial of Contemporary Art Printmaking running until 16 March 2025 – Curated by: Federica Chiocchetti and Anna Bleuler.
One of the few artists granted access to Neuchâtel’s prisons, Laurence Rasti presents an installation created in collaboration with incarcerated people that explores inequalities in the prison system.
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Image credit below: © Laurence Rasti with A., D., G., L., M., N., T., Z.,
Pinhole image, center – by N. /Original photosensitive paper, 10x15cm, pigment print reproduction, 2023
Wall as Horizon © Laurence Rasti /Neuchâtel Photographic Survey, 2024
Rasti worked with a group of detainees who incarcerated at La Promenade penitentiary in the town of Nauchâtel, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The project involved the creation of pinhole camera image created by the detainees in concert with additional photographs by the artist. By working together, Rasti aims to gain a deeper narrative shedding light onto issues of incarceration and confronting generally held misconceptions about the carceral system.
“I wanted to give these people back their humanity, to get them out of the statistics, to approach them, and to take stock of the situation. It was done through pinhole boxes, through photography, a medium that I had to master for this purpose… I tried to do my best, as ethically as possible, in order to shed light on this issue.”–Laurence Rasti
Laurence Rasti was born in Switzerland. In her photographs she explores the concepts of identity and beauty. Relying on the dual quality of her cultural background, she looks at Swiss and Iranian cultural codes and conventions from a new angle in order to understand the influence of gender roles in society, but also the consequences of migration or the non-respect of fundamental rights. She obtained a Bachelor in Photography at ECAL–University of Art and Design Lausanne, in 2014, and a Master in Fine Arts at HEAD – Geneva University of Art and Design, in 2019.
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Image credit Left: © Laurence Rasti with A., D., G., L., M., N., T., Z.,
Pinhole photograph by Z., Wall as Horizon, 2023 (Original photosensitive paper, 10x15cm, pigment print reproduction)
© Laurence Rasti / Neuchâtel Photographic Survey 2024.
(image above L – R/ Installation image from the exhibition “Wall as Horizon” /
© Laurence Rasti, with A., D., G., L., M., N., T., Z.,
Pinhole camera (far right) by N. 2023
© Laurence Rasti – Neuchâtel Photographic Survey 2024
You can see more of Laurence Rasti’s work here on the East Wing artist page , additionally you can also view her website here.
The publication “Wall as Horizon” can be ordered directly from the publisher here.
