Vrin

In 1990, Verner Soler, born in the village of Vrin in the Swiss Alps and educated as a primary school teacher, travelled to Los Angeles. His intended six-month stay turned into 30 years and counting. He studied photography and creative advertising in California, married and raised children, and became a Creative Director with Saatchi & Saatchi in Los Angeles, where he leads campaigns for major global brands such as Toyota. He still regularly returns to Vrin to visit his family, and always takes his camera with him wherever he goes. That way, Soler over the years has documented a place and a way of life that is gradually disappearing in this modern world.

This beautifully illustrated book presents Soler’s intimate exploration of an emigrant’s emotions when confronted with the accelerated changes of his home and its people, which he experiences as if captured in a time lapse. His authentic, powerful images of an unvarnished reality exude a touchingly honest and uninhibited attitude. At the same time, they are full of meaning and longing. Combined with long narrative captions, they invite viewers to experience this place of power for themselves.

Text in English, German and Romansh.