What is Gauge?
Gauge is an online publication made by photographers concerned with contemporary social, economic and political issues. Anchored in a slow journalism* approach, our focus is on using the camera to provide alternative perspectives to the dominant media, through engaged and sustained research. Moreover, we examine the way visual narratives shape public opinion, and provide a platform that aims to stimulate social reflection and dialogue.
Gauge is open to your contributions; please contact us if you would like to contribute to the magazine.
All the photographs and videos on our website, unless explicitly mentioned, are produced by us. If you’re interested in purchasing our images, please contact us at contact@gauge-mag.com
Who is Gauge?
Marie de Lutz is a photographer and socio-anthropologist. Her photographic work has covered issues ranging from conflict transformation to urban socio-economic tensions and growth. With a professional background in the development sector, she has experience in security sector reform, economic development, and social solidarity economy (SSE).
She completed her MA in the anthropology and sociology of development at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) Geneva in 2014, where she focused on photography as a catalyst for social dialogue in her thesis Stirring up Atrocity: Photography and Conflict Transformation in Kenya. Most recently, she co-directed the short documentary film Et Voilà discussing the condition of an undocumented migrant in Switzerland and the friends who try to help him. Examples of Marie’s photographic work can be found here: www.mariedelutz.com.
Sarah Bittel is a photographer and graduate of the Vevey school of photography (CEPV Vevey) 2014. Her publication Alpenflage is a visual quest into the newest military simulation technologies and the old myth of an impregnable mountain fortress. Alpenfalge is a fictional work based on documentary imagery and at the same time a self-reflexive work about a specific type of imagery widely publicized since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Her visual work consciously uses photography and its alterations as a tool for reflecting and analysing the media’s way of visualizing specific thematics. Blending fact-based fiction with existing documents and popular legends, the work provides a personal view on the abstract value of borderlines, and the struggle of asylum seekers. Sarah further integrates discussions on migration, national defence and arms in Switzerland – at times by following up debates linked to Swiss federal votes. Her art demonstrates how easily public opinion is directed by media, and tries to create a consciousness for the way we perceive given information in order to antagonise stereotypes. Examples of Sarah’s photographic work can be found here: www.sarahbittel.com.
Contact us:
If you’d like to get in touch with us, send us an email at: contact@gauge-mag.com.
Slow journalism is an approach to reporting that puts aside the need to be first, and the need for headlines. It is grounded in research and investigation, and takes the time to fully understand and explain a story. For a good overview of slow journalism, check out Rob Orchard’s TEDx on the subject.