Martin Gusinde: Begegnungen auf Feuerland

Between 1918 and 1923 Austrian missionary and eth­nographer Martin Gusinde (1886–1969) undertook four research trips to Tierra del Fuego, a group of is­lands at the southern tip of South America. During his stays in this region, where he was permitted to take part in the usually secret ceremonies of native Fuegians, he was able to gain deep insights into the culture of the Selk’nam, Yámana, and Halakwúlup peoples.

His monumental ethnographic publication and the some one thousand photographs that he shot with his large-format camera were considered a landmark in the history of anthropology. Documenta­ry images of high artistic quality, they show inhabi­tants before the backdrop of the extremely barren landscape and climate to which they had adapted their customs. Portraying celebrations and rituals, they also include striking close-up portraits as well as formal, posed compositions.