In 2015, photographer and scientist Bob Farese, Jr., moved to a new and somewhat bewildering city, finding himself suddenly without the creature comforts of family and friends, and experiencing aloneness in an unexpected and profound way. To soothe his feelings of isolation, Farese began taking street photographs drawing inspiration from the spontaneous and observational style of iPhone photographers David Guttenfelder and Gueorgui Pinkhassov, and the work of Cartier-Bresson. Images were captured in a mindful and receptive manner, alert to interesting viewpoints of everyday things that are hidden in plain view. Beauty in the banal.
Over the next five years, Farese continued his personal photographic journey with guidance from his mentor, the British/Egyptian photographer, Laura El-Tantawy. More than 100 of Farese’s exquisite images made during this period will be published in his first monograph, Am I Not Light (Lecturis, Fall 2021). The work reflects the photographer’s experience of arrival, the yearning for connection, and the newfound feeling of solitude. It is a meditation on loneliness, but not on solitary aloneness. Rather it expresses how one can feel alone even whilst being among many.
Farese’s images are lyrical, sometimes sensual, at times direct, often with a delicate distance. They made their way into the photographer’s eye from his peripheral vision, unexpectedly, as light called out to him. Many are abstractions of the ordinary, framed with an aesthetic to render them extraordinary.
Farese’s mentor Laura El-Tantawy writes: “Straddling the real and the whimsical, Am I Not Light is an introspective journey to experience the universal commonality that is solitude. It is especially poignant after the global Pandemic that brought all our lives at a halt forcing us to look inward and seek solace in the banal. I am especially delighted to see this book come to fruition after working with Bob for a few years to shape the work into what it is today.”
AM I NOT LIGHT
A poem and photographs by Bob Farese, Jr.
Published by Lecturis
Designed by Syb (Sybren Kuiper)
ISBN: 9789462264199
Japanese bound in hardcover
Page count: 316
Page size: 165 x 224 mm (Portrait)
To pre-order the book, go to https://lecturis.nl/en/product/am-i-not-light/
Website: www.bobfaresephotography.com
Instagram: @bfarese
