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UKRAINE.PHOTOGRAPHIEN - a photobook by Reiner Riedler
It's amazing how quickly photographs can become historical documents. My book was published in 2003, but the borders are different today due to Russian aggression. Crimea was still part of Ukraine at that time before it was annexed by Russia in 2014, as were the eastern regions.
"In Ukraine.Fotografien Riedler presents a thorough documentation of a country in flux; not for him a snapshot of one area or person that purports fictitiously to capture the essence of a country in a frame. The seriousness of his intent and dedication to his labour are admirable, and the resulting work is as illuminating as it is compelling reading."
Gordon Levy, foto8
Photographer Gerd Ludwig about my work on Ukraine (flap text):
Documentary photography has an obligation to the people portrayed to tell their story in pictures with empathy, conviction and as truthfully as the medium of photography allows. But it is also the photographer's duty to bring himself into the picture and make his own point of view visible. What a photographer decides to show is just as important for the result as what he deliberately leaves out. Even if photographers see their equipment as technical instruments for capturing reality, they must recognise that this reality is always only a subjectively perceived reality, one of an infinite number of possible realities. Moving photos tell just as much about the world of the person portrayed as they do about the person behind the camera.
Reiner Riedler's photographs are calm and gentle. Their stillness is transmitted to us, making us pause and inviting us to linger in the pictures. Almost silently, they lead us through a country without material prosperity or luxury. They captivate us with their sympathy for the lives of its people. We feel their closeness because the photographer is close to them. He respects them and appreciates their dignity; he rarely passes judgement, never condemns. His gaze casually skims over the external, often unfortunate circumstances of their lives. In his search for truthfulness, he discovers deep meaning in fleeting moments and saves them from transience for us. It is wonderful to see the world of Ukraine through Reiner Riedler's eyes.
