NW (North West) by Ábel Szalontai
The NW (North West) book by Ábel Szalontai is a representative selection of a photo series that has been evolving for decades. As author Ábel Szalontai puts it:
The selection in the book is part of a long-term and complex photographic project. I would like to present the journeys according to the equator in a separate volume, the first chapter of which is the NorthWest. The pictures were taken in Iceland and Ireland. In my head, the graphic concept follows the logic of abstraction in relation to the volumes that will appear later. This connection also has a dialog for editing the images.
The publication shows the world of seas and ports, and the stories of those living there and passing through. Szalontai is gifted in capturing the fascinating and perceptible encounters of water and shore, may it take place in photogenic Iceland or possibly in large industrial or port cities, like Dublin in Ireland.
In the book, Sigrún Alba Sigurðardóttir is quoted:
The artificial light that makes everything seem clearer, but also harsher to deal with Szalontai’s photograph of the quietness that can be found in the coldness of the night. As the soft light of the morning sun glittering on the corrugated iron of a renovated house in a remote fjord, as well as his photograph of the three sisters by a window in the January dimness, looking with some significance towards the photographer, combine an interesting story, inviting the observer to engage with and creating a poetic narration in resonance with reality about life in the past, the present and the future.
