Shikawatari by Chieko Shiraishi. Published by Sokyusha.
If you have ever wandered through a vast and empty land that is completely covered in snow you remember the complete silence that makes even your body a little weightless. In the remote North of Japan, Chieko Shiraishi moved through this winter land while being unexpectedly guided by a herd of deer. Not often do I see a body of work where wide nature, wild animals and a tiny human soul seem to be so united. Shiraishi's images transcend the traditional photographic language of nature and its majesty, instead taking us with her, in there.
The images are printed on matte paper, as noise reducing as the snow can be. The thin black negative borders reveal the dark room printer that Shiraishi is.
Honorable Mentions:
Encampment, Wyoming: Selections from the Lora Webb Nichols Archive 1899-1948 by Nicole Jean Hill
A Voice Above the Linn by Robbie Lawrence
Awoiska van der Molen is based in Amsterdam. The main focus of her work is centered on analogue images that manifest an intuitive memory of our original connection to the natural world. Her monographs Sequester (2014), Blanco (2017) and The Living Mountain (2020) are designed and published by Hans Gremmen, Fw:Books.
www.awoiska.nl
@awoiska_vandermolen