Memory of Light

MEMORY OF LIGHT STEEN EVALD

ON M E MORY OF L IG H T L a r s S chwa nder

The fact that experiences inf luence subsequent behaviour is evidence of an obvious but nevertheless remarkable activity called remembering. Memory is both a result of and an inf luence on perception, attention, and learning.

The basic pattern of remembering consists of attention to an event followed by the representation of that event in the brain. Repeated attention, or practice, results in a cumulative effect on memory and enables activities such as a skillful performance on a musical instrument, the recitation of a poem, and reading and understanding words on a page.

(Encyclopaedia Britannica on Memory)

With his series “Memory of Light”, photographer Steen Evald uncovers sculptural shapes. Seeking out the ref lections of movement found in the moments where light meets body and shadow, “Memory of Light” is a playful inquiry into ref lection, and one that leaves stark imprints, purif ied in penetrating white light. The images appear imaginative: they are extrovert and sculptural. But underneath their expressive appearance lives a puritan and humble principle: simplicity. A watchword for every step of the process. Nudity. Not to sexualize the physical related to the boudoir’s fetishistic nature, but nudity because the photographer has needed to peel off as many layers as possible. Nudity because it removes the images from the historical quality of clothing – away from fashion, away from the tangible. The images’ motif need not be anchored in time, but rather appears as abstraction.

The bodies, simply as sober f igures in a closed space. Only this: the women, the light and the darkness.

No disturbing elements, no superf luous effects, no real stage. Nudity belongs to no particular time or era; it is eternal, everlasting. Art and beauty are integrated elements. The school of art, its rules and

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ON M E MORY OF L IG H T L a r s S chwa nder

The fact that experiences inf luence subsequent behaviour is evidence of an obvious but nevertheless remarkable activity called remembering. Memory is both a result of and an inf luence on perception, attention, and learning.

The basic pattern of remembering consists of attention to an event followed by the representation of that event in the brain. Repeated attention, or practice, results in a cumulative effect on memory and enables activities such as a skillful performance on a musical instrument, the recitation of a poem, and reading and understanding words on a page.

(Encyclopaedia Britannica on Memory)

With his series “Memory of Light”, photographer Steen Evald uncovers sculptural shapes. Seeking out the ref lections of movement found in the moments where light meets body and shadow, “Memory of Light” is a playful inquiry into ref lection, and one that leaves stark imprints, purif ied in penetrating white light. The images appear imaginative: they are extrovert and sculptural. But underneath their expressive appearance lives a puritan and humble principle: simplicity. A watchword for every step of the process. Nudity. Not to sexualize the physical related to the boudoir’s fetishistic nature, but nudity because the photographer has needed to peel off as many layers as possible. Nudity because it removes the images from the historical quality of clothing – away from fashion, away from the tangible. The images’ motif need not be anchored in time, but rather appears as abstraction.

The bodies, simply as sober f igures in a closed space. Only this: the women, the light and the darkness.

No disturbing elements, no superf luous effects, no real stage. Nudity belongs to no particular time or era; it is eternal, everlasting. Art and beauty are integrated elements. The school of art, its rules and

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THE NUDE BODY IS TIMELESS. WHEN REMOVED FROM THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF CLOTHES OR SURROUNDINGS, IT BECOMES AN ETERNAL, ABSTRACT EXPRESSION OF HUMANITY. IN MEMORY OF LIGHT, STEEN EVALD’S PHOTOGRAPHY TRANSFORMS THE BODY INTO SCULPTURAL SHAPES, EXPLORING THE INTERPLAY OF LIGHT, SHADOW AND SKIN. THE PENETRATING BRILLIANCE OF WHITE LIGHT IS AT ONCE HARSH AND PURIFYING, REVEALING THE CORE PRINCIPLE BEHIND EVALD’S WORK: THE EVOCATIVE SIMPLICITY OF THE HUMAN FORM. NO DISTURBING ELEMENTS, NO SUPERFLUOUS EFFECTS, NO STAGING. ONLY THIS: THE WOMEN, THE LIGHT AND THE DARKNESS.

ISBN: 978-1-78884-159-7

9 781788 841597

54000 £30.00/$40.00

www.accartbooks.com