James Ballantyne

Its Liminal Everyday

Half In Wood, Half In Iron

Garmisch

Paris

Photo Book Review - The Humanness of Our Lonely Selves - Awoiska Van Der Molen

This Bog reviews the book The Humanness of Our Lonely Selves by Awoiska Van Der Molen with a focus on the materiality of the photobook. With considerations towards the aims of the work.

To Write this review I asked permission from the Photographer Awoiska Van Der Molen and the editor Hans Gremmen.

Work Statement

Critically acclaimed for her psychological landscape images, Awoiska van der Molen presents a new body of work with understated black-and-white photos of built-up environments that reveal traces of human presence: she zooms in on illuminated windows in the darkness of the evening in Japan.

Van der Molen encounters these windows while exploring the southern islands of Japan, where houses are constructed using traditional methods and materials. The walls are thin due to the mild climate. She is struck by the fact that apart from the din of a television, the soft shuffle of socks on echoing floors, or the clatter from a kitchen, she only hears the monotonous hum of air con. No heated discussions, no loud laughter, no sensual sighs. This is the first of her many travels through Japan to discover why she is so intrigued by these windows.

Photo Book Review

The strategic use of the Leporello fold is a pivotal influence in making the book great. Another bind would work but not as effective as this particular bind. The history of the leporello or accordion fold has ties to ancient Asia. Although the name is believed to come from an opera to account for the length of a character's sexual conquests. More recently in the Victorian era, leporello folds were predominantly used as souvenirs of travel, depicting panoramic landscapes of visited locations. In the current era the leporello fold has ties to narratives as well as accounting information like incidents and events.

The leporello in this book has considerations to this history. The location was southern japan which is a rural non tourist area known for its remote lonely seaside towns. With the fold the work can lay flat but tell its narrative from a tourists perspective. It is worth noting that Japan is facing a loneliness epidemic, a haven for the theme of the work.

The size of the book is rather peculiar, its size coming in at 220mm x 280mm. The most comparable size is a4 which comes in at 210mm x 297mm. I believe this unique shape is in consideration to the format of the images. The work was shot in large format. Other than this I would consider the convention breaking size of the book considers the taboo of loneliness but actively chooses to ignore it. A small change that could go unnoticed if the audience was inattentive.

The weight and format of the book requires an attentiveness. How it handles is heavy and slow. When I take the book off my shelf I typically place the book on a table to read the work, rather than palm the book. The fold is liable, it's not attached to the cover. The heavy thick black cover holds the book in a gentle embrace. The pages from what I can see are made up of 3 pages. The outside pages hold the image and the inside page is the support. Depending on how you turn the page it changes how the book moves. It has a gear rotation movement as you turn the page the opposing page moves back slightly then back to its original sitting position. In accordance with the fold and this page movement it emphasises a cycle whether that be loneliness or a movement of the photographer in the space i'm unsure. Although it is a subtle movement, which is needed when approaching homes in the darkness of the evening. Psychological elements are present through the imagery but are emphasized through its material. Matte pages with slight texture scars aid in the work being insightful. Whereas if the pages were gloss or semi gloss, the insight would disappear and become reflective. With the way Awoiska works in the landscape it would be disingenuous for the book to not demonstrate that deep understanding. Furthermore the bind of the book allows the audience to read the book in any of its orders.

Within the back half of the book is a mini spread of images on a lower gsm paper , it feels about 90gsm. The pages feature close ups of frosted glass. As you hold and turn the pages the silhouette of my hand was visible. This aspect tickled me, and became rather memorable in my reading of photobooks. Playing on the dynamic between the observer and the world as said in the artist statement. As I hold the innards of the book the silhouette is visible in the image but I'm altering the image externally. I then become part of the life hidden behind the glass. This materiality is a way for the photographer to find connection by allowing the audience to embody the space.

I got this book for christmas and i have read it multiple times. Each time I read it, I gain something new. I don't think this book is for everyone. It's a slow burner. If you are willing to accept this, then you will enjoy it massively.

As I was writing this, I was trying to find a certain page to talk about. In my haste I mishandled the book. The weight of the book accidentally collapsed in on itself. The book is fine, only a slight warp in the page, but it highlights how deliberate and slow you have to move with this book.

All images belong to Awoiska Van Der Molen https://www.awoiska.nl/works/window-series