Higher Ground - Hardcover

Carl De Keyzer; Philippe Claudel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9401437726 ISBN 13: 9789401437721

Publisher: Lannoo, 2016

Synopsis

In Moments Before the Flood, Carl De Keyzer portrayed a Europe on the cusp of drowning, flooded due to climate change. In Higher Ground, the flood has already passed. His images show people that have fled to the high mountains, depicting a fictional world of tomorrow. A large portion of the work is irony, but it bears an uncomfortably close semblance to scientific predictions of the future. In 2006, when Keyzer first began working on Moments Before the Flood, there were a lot of doubts about the extent of global warming. Since then however, the effects of this inconvenient truth have increased by an alarming degree. Where it was once presumed that the sea level would rise 37 cm by 2050, now scientists estimate that there will be a 3-to-4-metre raise. Higher Ground explores what the world might look like if this happens, encouraging the reader to think about the impact of climate change. The images were taken in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, France and Spain. French top author Philippe Claudel wrote a new fictional story especially for this book.

About this title

About the Author

Carl De Keyzer has been a member of the world-renowned photo agency Magnum since 1994. His pictures have been internationally published and exposed. The permanent threat of decay in modern society and the impact of power on everyday life are frequent themes in his work. Samples of his work can be found at www.carldekeyzer.com. Philippe Claudel is a renowned author and director. He wrote Les Ames Grises and Le Rapport de Brodeck and directed Il y a longtemps que je t'aime and Avant l'hiver.

From the Back Cover

De Exodus in beeld gebracht;;;L'exode mis en image The highlands as a place of refuge for het European population. No one knows whether it will ever be possible to return. In Higher Ground, Magnum Photographer Carl De Keyzer depicts a fictitious world in which people have fled from the tidal wave. It inspired the famous French author Philippe Claudel to write the short story Ararat in which he examines the psyche of De Keyzer's characters. The result is an intriguing and prophetic book - cinematic, poetic, apocalyptic. Higher ground is the sequel to the highly praised Moments before the flood. 'The most important thing, it seems to me, is to pretend. To go on pretending. I can't help thinking that none of this is real.' 'Please forgive me, but I no longer speak to anyone except God.' 'The funniest thing is that my son, who wasn't awake on the morning I wanted to take this trip - my son whom I'd left sleeping in the hired apartment - do you know what his first name is? Noah. Yes. Noah. I'm not making it up.'

Edition details

• Publisher: Lannoo
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9401437726
• ISBN 13: 9789401437721
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240