Street Photography 1917-2017 /Jens-Olof Lasthein
Swedish photographer Jens-Olof Lasthein travelled six years in the Caucasus area. In the Street Photography exhibition in Copenhagen his newly published photo book ”Meanwhile Across the Mountain” is represented through big panoramic colour photos documenting everyday life from the countries in the region plus a 20 minute long slideshow of great quality. As one who has visited Georgia and Armenia several times I was happy to get acquainted with Lasthein’s well composed and poignant pictures. One of them above:
Grozny, Chechnya 2011: The boys stand in a ruin, behind them a ruin landscape as well, and a church and some buildings, appartments probably. What is the future for the boys, for Chechnya, from where we nowadays are used to see glossy propaganda pictures from the Russian led Kadyrov regime. The photo is of course taken out of a context, when watching the slideshow you get the sense of watching a film with a narrative. Lasthein was interviewed in connection with the book coming out, here is a quote, link below:
”Now, about street photography. For me, the term simply means that I start out by working in the streets. Occasionally, I can be so lucky as to catch something in an instant, but mostly I need more time with my subjects. I have learned that only through getting to know people really well am I able to put myself in the most unpredictable situations. These surroundings then evolve and become circumstances that take me much farther than I could ever have imagined. Searching for these moments is very much what drives me.”
https://www.lensculture.com/articles/jens-olof-lasthein-meanwhile-across-the-mountain#slideshow
Gadefotografi 1917-2017, Øksnehallen, København. 28. juni – 1. august, Daily 10.00 – 20.00, friday and saturday 10.00 – 22.00.
