"'Natten' is a process of bereavement comprising all the emotions that surface with the loss of a loved one – but also acceptance, and respect for the essence of life – that the darkest gloom can exist side by side with ineffable beauty. Margot WALLARD spent several years living in the Swedish province of Värmland and her Natten project took shape there during a period of deep sorrow after her brother's death.
'The environment there provided a frame for the ambiguous feelings that came over me. There was the desire to move on, to heal, but also to prolong my grieving - to sink even deeper into my unease', says WALLARD.
The pictures in 'Natten' are sorted into chapters, much like the mourning process that WALLARD went through. Dead animals alterate with images of ice and seductive landscapes. Largely uninterested in nature before, she now chose to immerse herself in it – and find protection there. This is also the first time that WALLARD has turned the camera on herself." (publisher's note)
'In nature, I found a way of getting over the shock and finding time and the peace to question what I had been through. I scrutinised what I had found in my expeditions -organic material, minerals and dead animals. By documenting reality in its most honest and pure form, I found a way to better understand life and death.' (Margot WALLARD)
About the photographer, Margot WALLARD (*1978):
At the age of 16 she started to take pictures.
In 1999 she founded the Atelier Reflexe
2001 Organization of Slide Show Everywhere in the City during the Les Rencontres D'Arles Festival
2004/2008 No Name No City, inspired by her travels to Ukraine, Russia and China, is shown in Vienna and Rome
2007 EU Women project with Véronique BOURGOIN, exhibitions in the US, Poland, France and Spain
2008 Project start of My Brother Guilleaume & Sonia, 2013 published as a book by Journal
2010 Margot WALLARD moved to Sweden
This is followed by the books 'Foreign Affair' (2011), '7 Days Athens' (2012) and 'Karaoke Sunne', together with JH ENGSTROEM
2012 Start of the project Natten, exhibited during the Landskrona Festival in Sweden 2014
2015 The LEICA Oscar Barnack Award and The Dummy Award in Kassel
Other titles by Margot WALLARD are these:
'Karaoke Sunne' (2014, with JH ENGSTROEM)
'My Brother Guillaume and Sonia' (2013)
'7 Days Athens' (2012, with JH ENGSTROEM)
In Swedish:
"Margot WALLARD är en av Frankrikes mest talangfulla fotografer. Hon har under några år levt i Värmland och projektet NATTEN tillkom där under en period av djup sorg efter hennes brors död.
– Miljön där jag bodde var inramningen för de tvetydiga känslor som hemsökte mig. Det fanns både en önskan att gå framåt, att gå vidare mot läkning, men också att förlänga sorgen. Att sjunka ännu djupare in i mitt obehag, säger Margot Wallard.
Bilderna i boken är uppdelade i olika kapitel, likt den sorgeprocess som Wallard gick igenom. Döda djur varvas med bilder av is och förföriska landskap. Det här är också första gången som Wallard vänder kameran mot sig själv."
'The environment there provided a frame for the ambiguous feelings that came over me. There was the desire to move on, to heal, but also to prolong my grieving - to sink even deeper into my unease', says WALLARD.
The pictures in 'Natten' are sorted into chapters, much like the mourning process that WALLARD went through. Dead animals alterate with images of ice and seductive landscapes. Largely uninterested in nature before, she now chose to immerse herself in it – and find protection there. This is also the first time that WALLARD has turned the camera on herself." (publisher's note)
'In nature, I found a way of getting over the shock and finding time and the peace to question what I had been through. I scrutinised what I had found in my expeditions -organic material, minerals and dead animals. By documenting reality in its most honest and pure form, I found a way to better understand life and death.' (Margot WALLARD)
About the photographer, Margot WALLARD (*1978):
At the age of 16 she started to take pictures.
In 1999 she founded the Atelier Reflexe
2001 Organization of Slide Show Everywhere in the City during the Les Rencontres D'Arles Festival
2004/2008 No Name No City, inspired by her travels to Ukraine, Russia and China, is shown in Vienna and Rome
2007 EU Women project with Véronique BOURGOIN, exhibitions in the US, Poland, France and Spain
2008 Project start of My Brother Guilleaume & Sonia, 2013 published as a book by Journal
2010 Margot WALLARD moved to Sweden
This is followed by the books 'Foreign Affair' (2011), '7 Days Athens' (2012) and 'Karaoke Sunne', together with JH ENGSTROEM
2012 Start of the project Natten, exhibited during the Landskrona Festival in Sweden 2014
2015 The LEICA Oscar Barnack Award and The Dummy Award in Kassel
Other titles by Margot WALLARD are these:
'Karaoke Sunne' (2014, with JH ENGSTROEM)
'My Brother Guillaume and Sonia' (2013)
'7 Days Athens' (2012, with JH ENGSTROEM)
In Swedish:
"Margot WALLARD är en av Frankrikes mest talangfulla fotografer. Hon har under några år levt i Värmland och projektet NATTEN tillkom där under en period av djup sorg efter hennes brors död.
– Miljön där jag bodde var inramningen för de tvetydiga känslor som hemsökte mig. Det fanns både en önskan att gå framåt, att gå vidare mot läkning, men också att förlänga sorgen. Att sjunka ännu djupare in i mitt obehag, säger Margot Wallard.
Bilderna i boken är uppdelade i olika kapitel, likt den sorgeprocess som Wallard gick igenom. Döda djur varvas med bilder av is och förföriska landskap. Det här är också första gången som Wallard vänder kameran mot sig själv."
- Book design
- Greger Ulf NILSON
- Format
- HC (no dust jacket, as issued), 20 x 27 x 2,5 cm., 240 pp., English