For me it was a very important and revealing trip – photographically and personally. Travelling through the rural and remote areas of Canada has rejuvenated me and refocused my photography. It has birthed my new “Come Back Soon” project. While visually, the project focuses on the forgotten, unused and “what others left behind” it has a much more profound meaning. It is an invitation and challenge to study the past, which we are often so eager to judge and dismiss. Interestingly enough, it is not people who are at the centre of my photographic interest. Not in a direct sense.
It is the public sphere. It is the rustic, unplanned, often agrarian landscape left behind or maintained by people living far from the chaos and tumult of large cities. Even though most visuals portray things, those elements, carefully arranged in the frame, tell the story of people present and those who left. “Come Back Soon” is a visual examination of “what is left behind.” It is also a personal urge to see, arrange and speak out. It is not about taking a stance – there is an oversupply of people who do that – but it is rather a visual exposé for you to decipher and savour.
I have been longing for such a project for a while. I wanted my seeing to renew itself, to break with my past – to come back anew. “Come Back Soon” – indeed!
Next time…
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Hello Olaf:
I’d love to know more about the philosophy behind your new project. Looking forward for new posts. Best regards!
Thank you Robert for your kind note. I will try to write more about it in coming weeks and months. It is great to hear from you.
Like it very much!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.