All the events that caused this series to be were unplanned and unexpected.

Orly my partner and me found ourselves with a motorhome crossing the French Alps on route from Perugia to Eindhoven, we were supposed to fly and send my artworks with a courier but eventually we faced a problem because the Corona pandemic, and decided to transfer the artworks ourselves with a motorhome. In the end of March there were heavy rains in Italy and while we climbed the Alps there was a heavy snow storm. Driving a motorhome without snow chains through the Alps slopes turned to be a fearful experience, we couldn’t just stop by the roads because of the narrow path, we couldn’t just stop because there were cars behind us, the road got slipper, the sight worsened.

I asked myself how we got here, how come I endangered us in this kind of a risky experience, I said those thoughts out loud, and Orly was recording our discussions , she took pictures of the snowy path while I was concentrating on the way, Orly said that we will remember those moments for the rest of our lives, there is so much beauty around just look at the trees, it seems each one fights for its life with the wind and the snow.

From this moment on Orly took hundreds of photos and videos of the road and the scenery, it wasn’t any more a risk of our lives but a unique one-time opportunity to experience nature in its mighty power. The trees seemed like naked human beings crying for help, we needed help ourselves.

When we reached Lyon, I, like the pilgrims, kissed the snowy ground, we made it, we are alive with outstanding footage of the snowy Alps. When I reached my studio two weeks later, I started to work on a new art series inspired by the snowy Alps images.

This series reminds me to embrace the unexpected and to live with the certainty that there is a reason for each second, moment and day in my life.

Ted Barr