“This Was Us” (2026)
editorial // personal project
A reality of distraction and lost hope. A crumbling environment we seek to escape through nostalgia and irony. The world in which we upheld strong morals feels gone; reactionary times are rising on the horizon. This is the world in which this photo series seeks to discover the hidden beauty and tenderness of often overlooked or judged male friend groups.
editorial // personal project
The title “+41,” inspired by Switzerland’s international dialing code, alludes to the ambivalence of digital communication. Our technological ways of connecting are more diverse than ever. Yet the personal dimension of these connections seems to be fading. Closeness and distance, contact and isolation overlay one another in subtle tension.
A pale filter lies over the images and reinforces this effect. At first glance, the photographs appear monochromatic. Only upon closer inspection do colors reveal themselves: in the clothing, in the surroundings. This symbolizes the distant yet intimate connection we create with one another through phone numbers.
The raw concrete of the setting underscores the coolness and isolation that often accompany communication mediated by technology. In this way, “+41” becomes a quiet but compelling reflection on closeness, identity, and the ways in which we are connected.
editorial // featured in FACES Magazine
We Were So Online in FACES
I wanted to show the way young people today are reaching back to a past we never even fully lived, trying to find comfort and freedom in it. Style, sexuality, and nostalgia become tools of resistance, ways to reclaim a sense of control in a world that often feels chaotic and uncertain and most of all, scary.
I made this editorial with the idea of turning the past into a safe space, a world where self-expression isn’t policed or performative, but honest and playful. It’s about using the aesthetics of a supposedly „easier“ time to make sense of this complicated present.
There’s this feeling people are chasing. It makes sense that a lot of young people are kind of escaping into that time. Back then, everything seemed lighter, more carefree, like the future was full of possibility. The y2k era wasn’t perfect, but it had this playful, experimental energy. People were trying things, mixing styles, and not taking themselves too seriously.
That sense of freedom is missing today, so we’re bringing it back in our own way. It’s not just nostalgia, it’s a way of finding optimism again.
It isn’t about going back - it’s about remembering how it felt.
editorial // personal project
I wanted to show how our generation drifts between craving and overwhelm, numbed by the very things we’re told will make us feel alive. Like clothes and accessories. We buy to deafen the silence, to calm the anxiety, to signal who we are before we even know ourselves. Objects become distractions. They promise comfort, but often just add weight.
This editorial was born from the idea of turning that chaos into something visible: unpacking the emotional clutter behind the physical clutter. It’s about exposing the glossy illusion and finding honesty underneath it. By exaggerating the aesthetics of excess, I wanted to reclaim them, to make space for reflection rather than impulse. A reminder that in a world telling us to consume endlessly, slowing down can be the most radical act.
liam.sandera@icloud.com
I’m a photographer based in Zurich who loves editorial and reportage/portrait work and I’m also really into film. I used to make little photoshoots with my friends and convince them to be my models, assistants, everything. Creating has always felt natural to me and it’s something that brings me a lot of joy and fulfillment.
Before doing photography, I actually sailed professionally in the 29er class. I trained and competed for years. It taught me discipline, strength and most of all how to read subtle shifts and respond to them intuitively. But eventually I realized that what I really wanted was to put all my energy into visual art. So that’s what I’m doing now, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Outside of photography I’m a pretty outgoing, humorous person. I love spending time with friends and family, traveling, and exploring new places.
Thanks for being here.
Production Intern
Stories AG, Zurich
2026
Fachmittelschule Communication and Information
Kantonsschule Zürich Nord
2024
Sekundarschule
Sekundarschule Männedorf
2021