“Azov Horizons” is Patrick Wack’s latest book published by André Frère Editions. This bilingual book (En & Fr) gathers five years of work in Russia and Ukraine (2019/2024).
Here is an excerpt of the preface :
The Sea of Azov appeared to me in a flash of light. In my memories of that first Russian summer, mauve reflections shimmer on turquoise water, the last bathers, paddling in shallow water, chat a stone’s throw from the beach, aromatic barbecue smoke fills the air, and the clinking of glasses of vodka spells the end of a sunny afternoon. That unique soft and colourful light guided my first steps on the shores of the Azov, the little sister of the Black Sea, where I have returned every summer since 2019. During that first encounter, the Sea of Azov sparked the romantic drive in me that I need for long-term work. I promised myself to photograph the gradations of the horizon, so discordant with common visual conceptions of those regions, year after year, as a formal thread that would steer my exploration. But this summer narrative, which I had hoped would be filled with light, is also the chronicle of a world on the brink of disappearing, consumed by the war that would soon break out.
Patrick Wack
The book will be launched during the Rencontres d’Arles festival with a first signing at the Photobook Fair at the ENSP at 5:30pm on July 8th.
https://www.andrefrereditions.com/livres/a-paraitre/azov-horizons/
The project is also exhibited as a solo show at the Abbaye de Montmajour in the official program of the festival, opening is scheduled on July 8th at 10am.
ABBAYE DE MONTMAJOUR
7 JULY – 5 OCTOBER 2025
10.00 AM – 06.15 PM
LAST ENTRANCE: 5PM.
BUS LINES 702 AND 57 FROM THE SNCF TRAIN STATION OR G. CLÉMENCEAU STOP (SCHEDULE),
OR ON-DEMAND BUS SERVICE FROM MONDAY TO SATURDAY (ADVANCE BOOKING REQUIRED): +33 (0)4 90 54 86 16
https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions/view/1622/patrick-wack
