Martin Essl: Sinking in Paris
In Martin Essl’s book “Le bateau ivre”, the photographer walks the streets of Paris, taking the viewer on a journey of constant change and cyclic return.
The title of the book refers to the poem of the same name by Arthur Rimbaud, which describes the drifting and sinking of a boat lost at sea as a metaphor for the human journey through life. While the poem is full of symbolism, the search for meaning in the book is to be found in the sequence and not in the single photographs.
Colored pages, a fast food window, people walking in front of a wall. Rejecting the typical iconography associated with the city of Paris, Martin Essl’s photographs focus on minimal shapes and pastel colors, for humans to become fleeting presences in the city’s flow.
The book “Le bateau ivre” is published by Kehrer and available at the price of €60.00.
