Magnum photographer Stuart Franklin has spent the last three decades speeding around the globe, from Tiananmen Square during the 1989 demonstrations to Kiev for Wallpaper* in 2006 (W*94). But his latest venture was about staying put. Taken within just a few metres of his cabin in Norway, the hypnotic photographs that make up his new book, Narcissus, examine the way we search for our own image in nature. An extremely personal project for the photographer, Narcissus is only available for a few weeks (until 30th November). For 20 quick-off-the-mark Wallpaper* readers, Franklin will sign the book and offer a free limited edition print of 'Narcissus moonlight I' (below).
'The book is actually a first iteration - a way of laying down an idea that will grow into two exhibitions in 2012,' says Franklin, a co-owner and former president of Magnum. 'It's about the way nature - the landscape - can become mediated through photography to settle as an echo of ourselves: our thoughts, our emotions, our hopes and our fears.'
Reflected in the surface of a fjord and rotated from landscape to portrait, a mountain reads like a bishop in full religious robes. 'I took it in the moonlight, while in my dressing gown. It was the best way to get the right light on the mountain,' he explains. The meditative stillness of the landscape is also palpable in these extraordinary photographs.
Narcissus is the latest in a series of books by the photographer, two of which were born out of Wallpaper* features, including Hotel Afrique and Footprint: Europe's Changing Landscape. The new tome is available until 30th November from Blurb for £99.95. But, for the same price, 20 quick-off-the-mark Wallpaper* readers can get a signed copy plus a limited edition print of 'Narcissus moonlight I' by Franklin by emailing narcissusbook@gmail.com before 6pm on 30th November.
Please note: Wallpaper.com takes no responsibility for orders placed with external websites.
Inside the book: ’Narcissus moonlight I’ by Stuart Franklin, 2010, which the photographer is offering free to Wallpaper* readers who buy a signed copy of the book.
’Narcissus moonlight II’ by Stuart Franklin, 2010
’Holsvatnet V’ by Stuart Franklin, 2010.
’Holsvatnet willow IV’ by Stuart Franklin 2010
’Holsvatnet willow I’ by Stuart Franklin 2009
’Hiking boot and the mainland’ by Stuart Franklin, 2010
’Holsvatnet willow VI’ by Stuart Franklin, 2010.
’Narcissus 11,12,14,10’ by Stuart Franklin, 2010
’Self portrait, Øtroya’ by Stuart Franklin, 2010
’Holsvatnet birch forest I’ by Stuart Franklin, 2010
’Rope on a tree, Holsvatnet’ by Stuart Franklin, 2010
’The Ebony 8x10, Holsvatnet’ by Stuart Franklin
A rorschach image from inside the book Narcissus.
’Narcissus 14’ by Stuart Franklin, 2010.
’Holsvatnet mountain I’ by Stuart Franklin, 2010.
-
The return of Genghis Cohen: LA’s cult Chinese diner lives onThe 1980s Chinese-American landmark returns with red booths, neon nostalgia, and a fresh dose of Hollywood eccentricity
-
A monumental exhibition of French design revives the spirit of art deco for contemporary timesThe Galerie des Gobelins hosts the inaugural Salon des Nouveaux Ensembliers, a contemporary movement inspired by art deco’s grand traditions
-
Sotheby’s is auctioning Mercedes Gleitze’s Channel-crossing RolexThe historic Rolex that started the sport-watch synergy is going under the hammer, amidst a contemporary boom in sporty-elegant timepieces
-
Jamel Shabazz’s photographs are a love letter to Prospect ParkIn a new book, ‘Prospect Park: Photographs of a Brooklyn Oasis, 1980 to 2025’, Jamel Shabazz discovers a warmer side of human nature
-
A life’s work: Hans Ulrich Obrist on art, meaning and being drivenAs the curator, critic and artistic director of Serpentine Galleries publishes his memoir, ‘Life in Progress’, he tells us what gets him out of bed in the morning
-
Ed Ruscha and Ruthie Rogers team up on zingy new cookbookEd Ruscha and friend Ruthie Rogers, chef and River Café co-founder, have teamed up on a cookbook with a difference
-
Thomas Prior’s photography captures the uncanny fragility of American lifeA new book unites two decades of the photographer’s piercing, uneasy work
-
Cult classic ‘Teenagers in Their Bedrooms’ captures the angst of being a teenAre 1990s teens so different? Three decades after its original release, this photography book by Adrienne Salinger has been published again, by DAP
-
Make the Booker Prize shortlist your new reading listThis year’s Booker Prize shortlist captures the emotional complexity of our times, with stories of fractured families, shifting identities and the search for meaning in unfamiliar places
-
How to be butch: Clark Henley’s sharp, satirical and playful manual is back in printThe 1982 classic, ‘The Butch Manual: The Current Drag and How to Do It’, full of tongue-in-cheek advice, is available once again
-
We are all fetishists, says Anastasiia Fedorova in her new book, which takes a deep dive into kinkIn ‘Second Skin’, writer and curator Fedorova takes a tour through the materials, objects and power dynamics we have fetishised
