Mihai Șovăială

Mihai Șovăială is an artist living and working in Zurich. Since 2013, his photographic work focuses around urban development structures and their peripheries, questioning the impact of architecture on the context and history of the city. His work is exhibited either in exhibition contexts, through installations, or in book formats, often published independently. He completed his Meisterschüler studies in 2020 at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, Leipzig, under Prof. Joachim Brohm, after graduating in photography from the National University of Arts in Bucharest.

Sculpted Spaces

The construction site could be seen as a reflection of the disposition of our post-modern society. As an image, the construction site has taken up a permanent place in our collective consciousness. And it is this image that we encounter in our everyday urban life. Construction sites envision the potential for future buildings or the removal of structures deemed unworthy. To construct, one must first deconstruct. Whether through demolition or altering the natural environment, progress is impossible without this initial step. The building site is an unexplored territory, a temporary, vague terrain. As long as the building has not been inaugurated, it continues to exist in the public space of the city, without any economic use or function.

Materials, objects, and temporary installations created by workers to aid their daily activities all reveal a state of transition. The photographs are taken on weekends when work is paused, making these visits to construction sites akin to visiting artist ateliers. During these visits, I select and photograph the work in progress. The images challenge perceptions of scale and highlight the sculptural qualities of everyday construction sites.

Selection of images taken in Zurich between 2020 – 2023

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