Cuny Janssen - Amami (English and German Edition)

A limited-edition artist's book - only 1000 produced - by Dutch photographer Cuny Janssen, known for integrating portraits of schoolchildren - with the serious looks that only children can convey - with images of the natural world, expanding the classic sociodocumentary style into a much more narrative and expansive look at ''place''. For this project, Janssen made two visits to the sub-tropical island of Amami-Oshima, at the southernmost tip of Japan. This powerful yet graceful book, including 100 images (some of which fold out to double size) creates a feeling of a place almost frozen in time. ''Janssen is not concerned with the topographical highlights but with universal forces in nature,'' writes one critic. ''With her photographs she attempts to arrive at that vital essence. Her work is an ode to life itself''.