Badacsony by Ábel Szalontai
Badacsony refers to the region on the north shore of Lake Balaton where the peculiarly shaped basalt mountains meet the waterfront. The images in the Badacsony series are a photographic project selected from more than 4,000 images, creating a process of observation and reflection.
Capturing the same landscape again and again for eight years, Ábel Szalontai manages to build an incredible insight into a view that was there before us and will be there long after. Through repetition, the viewer is guided to immerse oneself beyond the top visual layer, digging deeper into the meaning and underlying content.
The painterly aesthetic of the photograph series is stunningly reproduced in the photo book that so well captures the idea and power of repetition. A subject that seems so personal to the photographer is showcased in such a way that it breaks away from him and becomes experiential to the viewer.
The grey-green cloth-covered book presents 72+8 photographs in a unique landscape format with the spine running on the longer side. The images are accompanied by short texts by a poet, as well as two essays by a philosopher and an architectural critic and visual environment researcher.
