“EXPRESSING THE INEXPRESSIBLE”

(HEJKE, Krzysztof) KOSINSKA, Barbara. Oblicza Krzysztof Hejke [The Faces of Krzysztof Hejke]. (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Terra Nova, 2002). Oblong octavo, original stiff photographic black paper covers. $150.

First edition of this selection of Hejke’s provocative surrealistic images, with 75 pages of photographs (18 in color) of symbols and visual metaphors “that constitute the author’s personality.” From the collection of acclaimed photojournalist Peter Turnley.

What is the purpose of Hejke’s photography? “To express the inexpressible— loneliness, fear, or the anxiety lurking on the edge of shadow and light, a glint of madness in the look from the inside of dark eye sockets? Hejke sought to define a new language in photography for himself, experimenting with staged scenes, arranging the space within the frame, combining human figures with elements of surreal still life.” From the collection of Peter Turnley, acclaimed photojournalist for Newsweek, Life and Harper’s Magazine, who has covered “almost every important international news event of the last 15 years” (New York Times).

A fine copy.