Info
About
Born in 1974 in Riedholz (Solothurn), Switzerland
Works in Basel, Switzerland
Education
2005: PhD of Medical Molecular Biology, University Basel, Switzerland
2003: Master (Diploma) of Biology, University Basel, Switzerland
Artist resumé
Martin Oeggerli was trained as a scientist and holds a PhD in Medical Molecular Biology and Genetics at University Basel, Switzerland. His artistic focus is closely intertwined with scientific discoveries and the technologies uses to make visible what cannot be seen with the human eye. His micro-navigations take him all the way up close to his subjects and result in visual discoveries that seem as far removed from the real world as science fiction movie sets. Bacterial colonies, topographic leaf surfaces, netlike weaves on a mosquito egg, or delightfully frightful close-ups of mites.
Oeggerli invites his viewers to re-evaluate their perception and position: The glossy surfaces of his images set the stage for unique lifeforms, strange substances and mysterious processes beyond the visible. Using ever more elaborate instruments and sophisticated methods, he tracks down the things that are hidden deep down in the micro world. Beyond the sheer variability of structures and shapes, his work also exposes what is part of our body and plays a secret but essential role in our everyday lives, as e.g. the microbiome of a kiss. The elaborate build-up of Oeggerli’s revelations of the unseen tears the ostensibly objective depiction of nature from a purely scientific observation and translates it to an artistic, pleasurable use. These works, teetering on the frontier, blend imagination and insights – and expand the terrain through unguided amazement at the extravagant, unexpected beauty of things viewed up close.
Over two decades Oeggerli has worked for the world’s most renowned magazines, publishing his articles and images in National Geographic, BBC, Wired, GEO, Nature, Cell, Science, or Vogue. He has been invited to exhibit by Ai Weiwei at the Gwangju Design Biennale, and has contributed to Mark Wigley’s and Beatriz Colomina’s current installation ‚We the bacteria‘ for the 24th Triennale di Milano. Oeggerli is a member of ‚The Photo Society‘ and National Geographic’s ‚Photographer’s Advisory Board‘ which represents the ‚Who is Who‘ in Photojournalism and Special Photography.
Honors and awards
2024, Photo Prize, Solothurn, Switzerland
2022, Lennart Nilsson Award, from Karolinska Institute, University Stockholm
2014, Best Scientific Cover – Nature Publishing Group, 1st prize
2012, Best Scientific Cover – Nature Publishing Group, 1st prize
2011, International Photographer of the Year, 1st and 2nd prizes special photography, NY, USA
2010, Best Scientific Cover – Nature Publishing Group, 1st prize
2010, Best Image of Research, 1st prize
2009, International Photographer of the Year, 2nd prize micro photography, New York, USA
2008, Best Scientific Cover – Nature Publishing Group, 1st prize
2008, Best Image of Research, 1st and 2nd prizes
Selected lectures
2024, Guest lecturer at the Museum Blumenstein, Solothurn, Switzerland
2022, Keynote for Lennart Nilsson Awards ceremony, Karolinska Institute, University Stockholm, Sweden
2022, Speaker at TEDxBasel, Switzerland
2020, Guest lecturer at ZHdK, Zurich, Switzerland
2018, Invited speaker for Swiss Embassy, Boston, USA
2018, Guest lecturer for Harvard, Boston, USA
2017, Guest lecturer ‚Visualizing the invisible‘ for Eberhard Karls University Eye Hospital Tübingen, Germany
2017, Guest lecturer at Career Seminar for University Huston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas, USA
2016, Guest lecturer ‚Microbiome‘ for University Basel, Switzerland
2016, Guest lecturer ‚Journey through the Microcosm‘, for Rotary Club Basel, Switzerland
2015, Guest speaker ‚Blood, Sweat and Tears‘ for University of Ferrara, Italy
2014, Guest speaker for Museum for Art and Natural History, St.Gallen, Switzerland
2012, Guest lecturer for Swiss National Foundation (SNF), Fribourg, Switzerland
2011, Guest lecturer for PINC-11: People, Ideas, Nature, Creativity, Amsterdam, Netherlands