Canadian photojournalist Frédéric Séguin publishes his first photobook, Réplique (Replica), which smoothly and subtly describes the atmosphere in Nepal, two years after being hit by a major natural disaster. This is not, however, a book about an earthquake, but more an earthquake that gets inadvertently written into a book. The term “replica” refers to the earthquake of May 2015 and echoes of memories that come as much in thought as in the book. It is also a parallel to the photographer’s return to Nepal. Everything is cyclical.
The book’s narrative frame looks at the seemingly innocent moments of daily life in Nepal in 2017, both in Kathmandu and in the countryside, with signs of past tragedy but focusing on the present times. “I was present in Nepal before the tremors and I was able to document the country as it was a few days before the disaster,” says Frédéric Séguin. “After the first shock of April 2015, I began to photograph the drama, from Kathmandu to the mountains of Sindhupalchok, where I almost lost my life during the May 15 aftershock. I returned to Canada in 2017 to continue my photographic work with the idea of presenting a new perspective on a weathered environment and people. I was there also to be able to supplement my past memories and to cure of this trauma with my camera. It is these recent photos that make up the bulk of the book.”
Frédéric Séguin, Réplique
Self-published
$25
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/replique-livre-photographique-photography#/
