30 December 2006

Tale for the living (part one)


I still remember the moment when I first met Ewa Stackelberg
through her pictures in the book "Tale for the living".
Peter
Ragnarsson was involved in the process of making the book
and it was he who presented it to me.
The first picture was like a
visual explosion, the one with a
camera smashed to pieces.

And from there the story evolved.
It´s a very moving work and almost
even more today when
I, thanks to Ewas generosity, am able to present
a selection
of pictures from her book. It was awarded as the best Photo
Book of The Year 2001 by The Association of Swedish
Professional
Photographers.
-Ulf Fågelhammar

”Tale for the living is the outward expression of several years
grieving process following the sudden death of a beloved. It is
as though the pictures have risen from the unconscious, the
story only becoming clear afterwards: a movement from
acute distress to disintegration and finally a return to life.”
-from the back cover of the English edition.






October 1997 my husband of twenty years died in a plane crash
in Costa Rica. Some weeks later, before the arrival of his body,
items found at the scene of the accident were returned home:
his purse, a few toiletries, a CDplayer with a disc in place. The
smashed camera with its broken glass was well packed in a
plastic bag together with earth from the ground were he fell.
The smell was that of humidity and tropical decay.

In an effort to deal with my desperation I used the broken parts
of the camera to make a picture. It wasn´t until much later I
realised this would be the beginning of a story.

The images are photograms, a method where chance and
exploration are important ingredients. They are produced
during two and a half years.
- Ewa Stackelberg






































Please also have a look at the postings of 22 December, 25 December
and 28 December with pictures from Ewa Stackelberg´s exhibition
"Surrender".
all pictures ©Ewa Stackelberg

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ewa, your pictures are strong, and make a very intense presence in my visual cortex. Reading about your situation makes a similar impact in my emotional cortex. Emotional photography is important indeed!
-C

Anonymous said...

Wonderful work Ewa! I must go find your book!