Table of Contents
- Tom Hegen Joins: From Swiss Passes to Salt lakes
- Significant Projects: His Series That Frame Global Issues
- Celebrated: Prestigious Awards & Recognitions
- Tom Hegen,The Swiss Pass Series,N°TSPS07 Julierpass–2020 Archival Pigment Print100 x 75 cm | Edition 5140 x 105 cm | Edition 3180 x 135 cm | Edition 2
- The Impact of Viewing from Above
- Why His Work Matters Now
- Explore & Reflect
- FAQs
Tom Hegen Joins: From Swiss Passes to Salt lakes
We are happy to announce that internationally acclaimed aerial photographer Tom Hegen is now part of the Petra Gut Contemporary artist programme. His thought-provoking and visually arresting work is now available through our galleries in Zurich and St. Moritz.
Save the Date: Join us for the Opening of his first Solo presentation in Switzerland at the gallery in Zürich on 10 September 2025.
Explore the collection here: Tom Hegen at Petra Gut Contemporary
Tom Hegen (b. 1991) lives and works in Germany. With a background in communication design, Hegen is known for his precise and minimalist approach, which transforms landscapes into visual reflections on human impact. Using drones, planes, and helicopters, he creates abstract compositions from real-world sites—salt fields, quarries, aquafarms, beaches, and airports—that at once seduce the eye and stir the conscience.
His work centres on the relationship between nature and civilisation, specifically where the two meet - and often collide. Each project is rooted in research and executed with conceptual clarity. From water usage and tourism to industrial extraction and reforestation, Hegen’s aerial images distil global systems into visual language. His practice invites reflection: what appears beautiful from above is often the result of intensive resource use, meticulous planning, and environmental transformation.
Hegen’s images do not dramatise - they reveal. By removing ground-level noise, he builds a visual archive of modern life, offering a rare perspective that is both analytical and poetic.
Significant Projects: His Series That Frame Global Issues
- Salt Series – Salt evaporation ponds, colored by algae and minerals, form surreal mosaics. Series IV contrasts industrial sites with the surrounding wilderness.
- Oyster Farm Series – At French Atlantic oyster beds, linear grids of cages mimic architectural blueprints, rendering aquaculture as visual architecture.
- Beach Series – Florida's beaches in high season become regimented arrays of umbrellas and loungers, illustrating tourism’s structure.
- Tree Crown Series – Forest canopies, when viewed from above, expose tree plantations as geometric, planned landscapes.
- Alpine River (Switzerland) & Swiss Pass Series – Glacial rivers and mountain roads carve through the Alps, stressing fragility, design, and engineered nature.
- Airports Series – During COVID-19 lockdowns, Hegen captured airports in near-deserted states. Heatmaps of runways, taxiways, and terminals reveal travel’s backbone in rigid order.
- Floating Market Series – Boat markets in Southeast Asia are illuminated from above: dense, vibrant nodes of cultural commerce.
- New York City Series – He reframes rooftops, streets, and blocks as tonal mosaics of grid-like urbanism.
- Colorado River Delta Series – The drying delta marks human over-extraction in stark, cracked landscapes.
- Caribbean Series – Resorts, harbours, and salt lagoons show tourism’s imprint on fragile island ecologies.
- Spanish Farmland Series II – Agriculteral fields in Central Spain tranformed into a patchwork of abstract art.
- Marble Series – Quarrying operations in Italy and Spain carve the Earth into sculptural forms of beauty and violence
Each series visualises the tension between aesthetics and consequences, where beauty acts as a mirror, revealing our engineered environment.
Celebrated: Prestigious Awards & Recognitions
Hegen’s work is widely acclaimed, with top-tier industry awards:
- Adobe Social Impact Award 2018 – His debut photobook HABITAT: Human-Altered Landscapes won in the Social Impact – Photography category. This recognition introduced his global audience to his purpose-driven photography.
- Red Dot Junior Prize & German Design Award - In 2019, he also earned the Red Dot Junior Prize, followed by the German Design Award.
- Red Dot: Best of the Best 2021 – His book AIRPORTS was awarded the highest distinction at the Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design
- Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2021 – Shortlisted in the Newcomer category for his German coal-mining series, capturing environmental tension with minimalist precision
- International Photography Awards – Multiple honours, including Gold and Honorable Mentions up to 2023, reflect the industry-wide impact and consistency of his practice
- D&AD Next Pencil 2019 – For HABITAT, marking his emergence as a leader in visual storytelling
His artworks are showcased in institutional and private collections worldwide, and he continues to contribute to exhibitions and publications internationally.
The Impact of Viewing from Above
Hegen’s aerial vantage point offers a cognitive shift. Landscapes become puzzles: colored patches of salt, architectural oyster farms, networked roads threading mountain slopes. Beauty, symmetry, and form invite admiration, but it’s the conceptual tension that lingers.
By presenting environmental scars as art, Hegen asks: What happens when we aestheticise our systems of consumption? His minimalism is more than visual elegance—it’s a lens through which ecological ethics gain clarity.
His creative discipline is evident:
- Research & Choose: Identify landscapes modified by human systems.
- Plan: Secure access, determine flight paths, and find ideal vantage points.
- Capture: Execute aerial shoots during optimal light and conditions.
- Post-production: Process images only to enhance captured reality—no fabrication.
- Contextualise: Present photos as a series with narrative framing.
The result is photography that feels like design, but speaks deeply to ecological and industrial narratives.
Why His Work Matters Now
In the era of climate crisis, resource scarcity, and globalisation, Hegen’s practice is timely. He doesn’t preach - he reveals. His aerial images create a lexicon for engineers, policymakers, environmentalists, and viewers to discuss the Earth’s altered face.
His work has been featured globally - in National Geographic, Geo, Designboom, IGNANT, and more - bringing design-quality photography to environmental dialogues. Through recognised design awards, he also proves that art and sustainability are compatible and compelling.
Explore & Reflect
Dive into Tom Heggen’s full portfolio at Petra Gut Contemporary’s dedicated collection, featuring limited editions like Salt Series III & IV, Oyster Farm, Beach Series, Tree Crown, Marble, Swiss Pass, Colorado River Delta, Floating Markets, New York City, Caribbean, and more.
Hegen’s vision is consistent across his 15+ series: the Earth we inhabit is designed—sometimes beautifully, sometimes brutally. He invites us to see that beauty is not absent from impact; it’s often its consequence. By observing from above, we can begin to grasp the scale and the need for more mindful stewardship of our planet.
FAQs
Who is Tom Hegen and what is he known for?
Tom Hegen is a German aerial photographer born in 1991 and based in Munich. With a background in communication design, he is internationally recognised for his minimalist, concept-driven aerial images that explore the intersection of nature and civilisation. Using drones, planes, and helicopters, he documents human-altered landscapes—turning industrial sites, salt fields, and farmlands into visually arresting compositions that reveal the ecological impact of modern life.
What is the main message behind Hegen’s photography?
Hegen’s work visualises the human impact on nature. Rather than dramatising environmental damage, he presents it through a lens of beauty and order, prompting viewers to reflect on the consequences of consumption, industry, and design. His images are aesthetically compelling, but the underlying message challenges our perception of what we consider natural or sustainable.
Which photography series by Tom Hegen are available at Petra Gut Contemporary?
Petra Gut Contemporary represents a wide selection of Hegen’s limited edition series, including:
Salt Series III & IV
Oyster Farm Series
Beach Series
Tree Crown Series
Swiss Pass Series
Marble Series
Colorado River Delta Series
Floating Market Series
New York City Series
Caribbean Series
Spanish Farmland Series II
These series are available through the gallery’s Zurich and St. Moritz locations.
Has Tom Hegen received any notable awards or recognition?
Yes. Hegen has received numerous awards including:
Adobe Social Impact Award (2018) for his book HABITAT
Red Dot Junior Prize and German Design Award (2019)
Red Dot: Best of the Best (2021) for AIRPORTS
Leica Oskar Barnack Award (shortlisted, 2021)
D&AD Next Pencil (2019)
Multiple International Photography Awards (Gold & Honorable Mentions)
His work has also been featured in National Geographic, Geo, Designboom, IGNANT, and other leading publications.
What makes his aerial perspective so impactful?
By viewing Earth from above, Hegen removes ground-level distractions and presents landscapes as graphic, abstract patterns. This high vantage point transforms quarries, runways, and coastlines into designed environments—forcing us to see both the beauty and cost of human intervention. His work balances poetic elegance with ecological urgency, creating a compelling narrative for anyone interested in the future of the planet.
