Running Man, Paradeplatz
Mark Henley
From Bank on Us
Zurich, SWITZERLAND, 2011
A man running through heavy rain across Paradeplatz, the symbolic centre of the Swiss banking industry in central Zurich. A 7,000 billion dollar secret, the Swiss banking industry holds a third of all global offshore assets, ring-fenced by ingrained conservatism and strict banking secrecy laws. Accounting for half of the Swiss banking industry, two banks – UBS, and Credit Suisse – dominate the austere heart of this secretive world. Headquartered side by side on Paradeplatz in Zurich, they’re said to own vast vaults beneath the square, containing gold, cash and enough secrets from around the world to feed myriad spy novels and thrillers.
‘This picture came from a series of images on Swiss banking. It was taken during a sudden summer downpour on one of the many times I spent haunting Paradeplatz. I almost left it out of the series because it’s one of those images that escapes one’s control. I was making a dark series on the crisis, whereas this photograph is strangely positive. It has an energy, a certain defiance - you have the idea that he's going to make it through the rain to wherever he wants to go. This guy made his run and I took three shots. It’s the middle shot that worked. It was one of those
things, it's a 200th of a second, but also two years of work to get the picture.’
Specification
Mark Henley
After many years working around the world, observing the consequences of economic and social change globalisation has brought, Mark Henley has taken as his subject the organisations that have helped drive these changes, elaborating a visual language to talk about decision makers, diplomats and bankers who are more used to operating unobserved, behind closed doors.
His project ‘Bank on us’ about the secretive Swiss banking industry won several awards including the Swiss Press Photographer of the Year 2012. He won this award a second time in 2014 for ‘Waiting on a deal’, his observation of the diplomatic negotiations leading to the Iranian nuclear deal in Geneva.
Mark is based at the UN in Geneva and divides his time between the real world and the United Nations.
Your Print
When will I receive my print?
We produce prints in a batch every two weeks. Shipping can take up to one week in the UK, and two to three weeks internationally. Orders should be received within 3-5 weeks depending on your location.
What will I receive?
Your print will be posted flat, in a protective sleeve, to avoid damage or curling in transit. Prints come with a Panos Prints provenance certificate with background information about the image and the photographer.
The paper is A4 sized, the image will be smaller than A4 with a white border around it - see Image Specification for exact image size. Borders will be laid out as demonstrated by the print images on the site. We do not provide framing services and images of framed prints are only meant to be illustrative.
Print Care
Paper and ink
We print on Hahnemuhle Baryta FB, an archival fibre based 350gsm fine art paper. It is a bright white paper with a traditional character finish and heavy weighting. This paper has long been the industry standard paper for digital printing.
What is a giclée print?
Giclée comes from French and literally means ‘squirt’, referring to the spray of very fine drops of ink that produce an inkjet print. We print with archival paper and pigment inks to the accepted standards of fine art giclee printing found within the collectors market. Prints should last over a hundred years and with care longer than this. Avoiding extremes of light, heat and humidity will help prolong the life of your print.