British photographic artist Simon Roberts has made a name for himself with work that examines our relationship to the landscape that surrounds us. Here, he talks about his latest film, part of an exhibition at Fotostiftung Schweiz (the Swiss Foundation for Photography) in Winterthur about photography’s impact on the nation’s image:

“When wealthy English people set off on their European Grand Tours in the 1800s, they expected that Switzerland would inspire them with vistas of sublime grandeur. The landscape’s untamed romanticism was a crucial component of the country's national identity and cultural prestige.

“Today, the Swiss landscape often resembles a theater set, where tourists are transported to officially designated areas of natural beauty to gaze upon epic views from the safety of stage-managed viewpoints.

“This film is part of a wider exhibition of works where I explore issues relating to aesthetics, performance, and individual and collective identities within our ‘culture of instantaneity.’”