josef chladek

on photobooks and books

J. Carrier - Elementary Calculus, MACK, 2012, London

Hardcover, cloth bound.

J Carrier has had a nomadic lifestyle, moving from Washington D.C. to Ecuador, and then to Africa and the Middle East, every move taking him further from his friends and family. During his time in Israel, Carrier began to feel an affinity with the migrants who had landed in the dusty city of Tel Aviv, relating to their experience as an outsider, someone far from home.

Elementary Calculus, through a series of portraits, landscapes and still life photographs, observes the publicly private moments of these peregrine foreigners as they attempt to connect back to their homes. In his documentation of migrants and refugees in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Carrier explores the distance between reality and desire – the want for what was and the hope for what will be – and traces the manner in which we navigate the points between the unknowns. His photographs resonate with the sense that in a foreign country geographical distance loses its physical measure and home feels like a hazy memory, a half-remembered dream.

Carrier’s subtle yet striking images of Israel and the West Bank throw up more questions than they answer. What does this influx of foreigners mean in a nation that is defined by ethnicity and competing claims of ownership? And how does this complex situation affect these new varieties of refugees? Is there promise in this land for them? (from the publisher)

Pages: 128
Place: London
Year: 2012
Publisher: MACK
Size: 25 x 21 cm (approx.)