We visited the idyllic Swiss lakeside town of Vevey for its 10th Biennale of photography. Global head of photography Fiona Shields picks out some of her favourite projects on display
Discover the 50 artworks on display at the 10th edition of the Biennale Images Vevey , 5-27 September 2026
Prefer the Guardian on Google E very two years, on the shores of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, the town of Vevey transforms its public spaces and buildings with 50 installations of artistic projects from 21 countries, which are free and open to the public. With such a breathtaking natural setting as its backdrop, the photography displayed at Images Vevey has to strike its own particular note of magnificence to hold the gaze.
Rising six storeys high, Sian Davey’s portrait of the renowned photographer Martin Parr, who died at the end of last year, sets the tone for this year’s festival. Taken in a splendid garden that seems to have flourished straight from Eden, the monumental portrait overlooks the town.
Martin was a significant and much-loved member of the Images Vevey family, having exhibited his own work here on a number of occasions. It is fitting then, that he should embody this year’s theme, “We Are Family”.
View image in fullscreen View image in fullscreen When Martin arrived to visit Sian he had recently received a terminal cancer diagnosis but Sian recalls the serenity he experienced in the garden. That sense of peace radiates from the portrait as he watches over the town in a fitting tribute.
The creation of the garden itself was a labour of love for Sian and her son Luke. As you can see in the portrait of Martin and in the other photographs in the display, it’s also the playground of Sian’s daughter, Alice, making this in every sense a family affair.
View image in fullscreen Alice from The Garden
Many of this year’s family-themed projects are a study of love and loss, connection and separation. In Barbara Davatz’s series As Time Goes By the starting point is the relationship between couples who visited her studio from 1982 onwards. Over the course of three decades, she charts their changing relationships creating a fascinating kind of family tree.
View image in fullscreen Prints by Barbara Davatz in the central square
Uncomplicated by props or elaborate staging, her subjects are presented in their purest form, inviting us to contemplate the course of their lives and the shifting nature of family bonds over time.
View image in fullscreen View image in fullscreen Barbara, Aniko, Sascha – 1997. Barbara + Béla – 2014
View image in fullscreen View image in fullscreen Carlos + Aniko – 2014, Barbara + Sascha – 1982
One of the most joyful series on display is Martina Bacigalupo’s Showing How Big the Sky Is, a project that charts 10 years of personal correspondence and amusing snapshots exchanged via WhatsApp and Skype with her former nanny, Chiou Taur Wu, who she affectionately describes as “auntie”.
View image in fullscreen One of Martina Bacigalupo’s prints on display at the festival
“I love being barefoot. Because when your feet are not tied you are free.” Chiou told Martina, offering a glimpse into the context of her life.
Born into poverty in Taiwan in 1948 and deprived of an education, Chiou left the country to marry an Italian sailor and began new life with him in Portfino. But her hopes for a brighter future were dashed when she discovered he had mounting gambling debts which she then spent decades paying off.
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