Ábel Szalontai, a photographer and the Head of the Photography Program in the Media Institute of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art & Design Budapest, recently had an exhibition titled Starry Bay that presented a curated selection of photographs and short movies, from the long-term and complex photographic project Portography/Library of Water which the photographer has been evolving for decades. The collection lays out the world of seas and ports, and the stories of those living there and passing through. Along with the exhibition, which took place at the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, a photography book celebrating the body of works was published.
“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, combines 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.” – Sigrún Alba Sigurðardóttir
Észak Nyugat (NorthWest in eng.), printed on Sappi Raw design paper, showcases the first chapter of the Portography/Library of Water photography project
The book that was released under the title Észak Nyugat (NorthWest in eng.) was designed by the accomplished graphic designer Anna Farkas. “I wanted to present the journeys according to the equator in a separate volume, the first chapter of which is the NorthWest. For which the pictures were taken in Iceland and Ireland.”, the designer explains the concept. “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 book’s core was printed with 4+4 colors on Sappi Raw 150gsm paper (Exclusively available at Europapier), chosen for its high quality and unique characteristics that allow for the soft light of the photographs replicated in a beautiful manner.
You can follow Szalontai’s Portography/Library of Water project on Instagram.
© Farkas Anna