Geister is an ongoing photographic project that explores the ancestral tradition of Silvesterchlausen in the Appenzell region of Switzerland. Every December 31 (Gregorian calendar) and January 13 (Julian calendar), masked figures called Chläuse descend from the mountains to embody benevolent spirits, perpetuating a unique pagan ritual.

My work focuses on this festival as a form of discreet resistance to modernity, a living link between the community, the land, and time. With an approach that is both intimate and reflective, I seek to capture how this ritual retains its symbolic and social power in the midst of a changing world.
This project, which extends my research on popular traditions and sacred rites, is an invitation to look differently at gestures, masks, and collective memory.