Long committed to a policy of neutrality, Switzerland, at the start of the new millennium, is coming to terms with itself—as well as with the world around it.² A landlocked terrain measuring approximately 15,000 square miles, with a population numbering over seven million, Switzerland borders on France, Germany, Austria, and Italy. Although seeming to function as a stabilizing center, Switzerland is actually a dynamic cultural crossroads, with most citizens speaking at least two of the nation's four official languages—French, German, Italian, and Romansch (a Latin derivative). Take off in any direction and you will soon find yourself in a foreign country. Today not even the formidable Alps discourage communication or travel. From super-fast trains to mobile phones to the Internet, modern technology has forced the air out of our great globe, dramatically increasing both the speed of transmission and our sense of congestion.

Contemporary Swiss photography reflects this inter-national state of affairs while also responding to its own particular history. As in recent Swiss literature, a de-mythologizing current runs through much of the country's photo-based art of the past decade.³ A new existentialism has emerged, with Swiss artists questioning the notion of reality—including the ability of science to define it. This postmodern mindset reflects not only Swiss artists' direct engagements with the world around them, but also the complexity of Switzerland's recent history. Consequently, the younger generation of Swiss photographers finds little reassurance in the traditional ideals of distanced neutrality and self-sufficiency exemplified in the hallowed legend of William Tell, who is said to have stood courageously against the most powerful autocratic force of his day.⁴

As Not Neutral's curator, Urs Stahel, and others have noted, it would be rash to suggest that all of Swiss photography reflects a shared agenda; hence any exhibition can present only a cross-section of the current scene, at most suggesting a thread of continuity while illuminating the wide array of creative options that are currently available. If any single concept characterizes our sampling of contemporary Swiss photography, it is perhaps a tone of sustained ambiguity, or a recurrent interest in the contingent, ephemeral, and marginal aspects of everyday life.⁵ This sensibility reflects how completely the younger generation, both in Switzerland and internationally, has abandoned the conceit that photography captures reality in an objective, straightforward manner.