In his collection From Back Home the Swedish photographer JH Engström traced his childhood memories back to the province of Värmland, in the west of Sweden. Together with his friend, the internationally acclaimed photographer Anders Petersen, Engström revisited his native land to pay tribute to the people, light and landscapes.
From Back Home (Max Ström, 2009) was awarded the book prize at Les Rencontres d’Arles and comprises a multifarious collection of coloured and black and white portraits, landscapes, still-lives, close-ups and aerial shots. The images are united by a sense of spontaneity, an ephemeral tone that lends them an air of tenderness. These are works of intimacy and loss, exploring questions of time, memory and the possibility of return.
Above is a selection from the series, more of which are reproduced in issue two of The White Review, alongside an interview with the photographer by Eugenia Lapteva. The issue is out 1 June 2011.
