How do relationships change over time? With this key question in mind, photographer Barbara Davatz began in 1982 to portray twelve young couples from Zurich – in love, friends or relatives. The neutral background in the photo studio and the frontal perspective draw our attention entirely to the people and their idiosyncrasies – be it the clothes style, the hairstyle, the posture, the facial expression or even the partner.
Davatz stayed in touch with all the couples and met again in 1988, 1997 and 2014 to take pictures of them. This resulted in the photo project "As Time Goes By", a long-term visual study that shows us how people, their self-portrayal and also society change over the years – and, of course, how time flies!
"I want to show real, strong, sympathetic people. But I'm not looking for this pleasing expression in people, but for his zero position, his inner state of mind. Every picture is the document of a relationship, the sum of the pictures is a document of the time," said Barbara Davatz about their photography. Here you can learn more about them and their work.