Surprise, anger, desire, fear, joy and sadness: The photographer Fred Merz has returned to his native Geneva for Horizons, and has translated the city’s main emotions into images.

Merz’s artistic work is characterised by its cinematographic mood and meticulous lighting – using as many as ten flashbulbs per shot. He says the following about this work: “I first looked for places I associate with emotion, before imagining a particular story for each type of emotion. And all the subjects are people I know. After all, it’s much more fun to work with the people you love!”. Merz is a co-founder of the agency Lundi13.

The photographer Fred Merz stages emotions in the city. Every picture tells a story. Photo: Fred Merz

Photo: Fred Merz

Photo: Fred Merz

Photo: Fred Merz

Photo: Fred Merz

Photo: Fred Merz

Feature: Rationalising emotion