Inverse Alpinism is an observational photographic series recording the absurd, banal and incongruous motifs of ski tourism, juxtaposing the natural beauty of the European alpine region with the man-made architecture and infrastructure of the Alpine skiing industry. The title of this series - Inverse Alpinism - is a pun on the mountaineering term ‘Alpinism’, which refers to the subset of climbing which involves rapid and often unsupported ascents to the summit. Much like with skiing, speed and continual propulsion are key characteristics of Alpinism. However, this series seeks to slow the speed of skiing, and capture moments of calm amid the chaos and competitiveness of Europe’s most popular pistes. The resorts include La Rosiere / La Thuile, The Three Valleys, Cervinia / Zermatt and Saalbach.
Alexander Williamson is a writer and photographer from the Scottish Highlands. As a freelance and documentary photographer, he alternates between digital and analogue photography to document the strange, ephemeral and unnoticed spaces of the contemporary. He has an MA in Modern and Contemporary Literature from Birbenk, University of London, and a PhD in English from Birkbeck, where the focus of his thesis was unconscious collaboration in the novels of Siri Hustvedt and Paul Auster. Laughing Stock, an autofictional memoir, is his first book.