Skeleton Key Press, 2024. Edition of 360 copies, signed and numbered. Hardcover, 112 pp., 69 b/w illustrations, 210 x 240 mm. Photographs by Øyvind Hjelmen. Poem by Jon Fosse (English / Norwegian). Design by Russell Joslin.
Øyvind Hjelmen’s 30-year practice in photography—as any fortunate gallery director, book publisher, editor, critic, or friend can attest to—has been his presentation of an entire portfolio of photographs contained within a matchbox-sized container. Being Here, Hjelmen’s fourth monograph, a clothbound limited edition of 360 signed and numbered copies, expands and recontextualizes this experience in book form. After opening with a poem by Nobel laureate Jon Fosse, the book takes readers on a visually poetic and interior journey of Hjelmen’s enigmatic photography. The collection reflects a human desire or inclination (similar to photography itself) to leave a mark, to express “I was here” or “We were here,” even if only momentarily. Like Hjelmen’s portfolios, the expertly printed photographs in Being Here are reproduced small but reveal a surprising amount of clarity and possess a quiet resonance. As the open narrative unfolds page by page, evocative themes emerge: home, travel, awakening, abandonment, transcendence, wandering, loneliness, reflection, and memory. The book allows viewers to decode the layers and narratives while inevitably drawing their feelings, memories, and associations into the personal yet universal images. Being Here is a unique book that may be the most true-to-form expression of Hjelmen’s photographic journey.
Øyvind Hjelmen has worked with photography for 30 years and specializes in masterfully hand-printed black and white gelatin silver prints, hand-bound artist books and portfolios, and large-format unique photograms. He holds a BA in Modern Art and Aesthetics from the University of Bergen. His works have been exhibited in 15 countries and are held in several public and private collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts. Being Here is Hjelmen’s fourth monograph, following Elsewhere (Kehrer, 2010), Moments Reflected (SKP, 2020), and Broken Shadow (Kehrer, 2022). He lives and works on the island of Stord, off the west coast of Norway.
Jon Fosse is a Norwegian author, translator, and playwright. In 2023, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his innovative plays and prose, which give voice to the unsayable.” Fosse’s work includes over seventy novels, poems, children’s books, essays, and theatre plays, translated into over fifty languages.
