Firstly the link to Sobol’s website in the course manual is defunct. The correct one is http://www.jacobauesobol.com/sabine-1/ . This section of the manual explores identity and place in more depth and requires that I consider my own identity in relation to the landscape.
Some of the key points to take into account in relation to the identity of a particular place are the following.
- How is it distinguished from other similar places?
- How do the users and inhabitants of a place feel towards it?
- What attitudes do outsiders have towards the place?
Sobol’s series on Sabine is like a visual diary of someone who has fallen in love with someone outside his own culture. Its an expose of how he has adapted to try and fit in and adopt this new culture (unsuccessfully it turned out). The harsh living conditions are reflected in his stark black and white images – the swirling snow, hunting on the ice floes, the cramped living quarters, butchering seals in the bathroom and polar bear hunts. By opting to use black and white for the images Sobol has managed to emphasize the harsh environment. His relationship with Sabine is very intimate as we can see from the photos he has taken of her and the series. The photographs of the time spent with Sabine are interspersed with Sobol’s outdoor activities where he is being taught how to survive and hunt. Its a juxtaposition of love and intimacy on the one hand and on the other brutal violence and survival on the other. Its a tumultuous combination and neither wins out at the end of the day.
Bibliography
Jacob Aue Sobol (2011 – 2017) Sabine [online] Available at: http://www.jacobauesobol.com/sabine-1/ (Accessed 26 August, 2018)
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2011) Jacob Aue Sobol on Sabine [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTtH4ihkJnE (Accessed 26 August, 2018)
Lynda Kuit Photography - Landscape 