Ian Howorth – A Country Kind of Silence

Review by Gerhard Clausing •

In his very perceptive essay for this photobook, Harry Gallon provides a very important insight: “Place exists as the altar of our everyday existence.” He goes on to discuss the multiple layers of history that weigh heavily on all the locations that were photographed by Ian Howorth for this astonishing project. As I have noted previously in reviewing the first monograph by the author, Arcadia, time and space become very important factors, not only for those of us who have relocated to a different country or are at home in several countries, but even for any of us when we visit places we have been before where many changes can be observed. The manner in which everyday events are conducted is subject to constant flux. There are also regional and national cultural preferences that change over time as well.

It happens to be the case that Ian Howorth was born in Peru and has spent the last 26 years in Britain. Like many of us, his preferences and needs are met in a variety of locations both in his country of origin and in his new location, Great Britain. He states in his website,

“Feelings of unease and uncertainty have always been with me and many of these are tied to the constant changes I see in my surroundings; these developments have often mirrored a change in myself as time’s gone by.

I wanted A Country Kind of Silence to be a response to this change – of perception and my personal sense of self. I want to celebrate this transitional period with images that show a quiet calm, a moment of silence capturing various tropes of the past before they are lost and forgotten. I associate these visual cues with my adopted sense of identity – I am always in search of cultural symbols to anchor my identity to.”

As relics of the past change or disappear, we can also be mindful that we ourselves are part of that same process of change, and we ourselves participate in the changes that time exacts. The 85 images contained in this book constitute a very interesting approach to temporal cultural representation and a kind of catalog of what the photographer has seen in his new country, and an attempt to lovingly document moments that are evidence of people’s previous and current activities. We mostly see the places that remain as evidence of activities having taken place. Very few portraits or observations of people are shown; for instance, sprinkled among the cultural landscapes we see a gentleman enjoying the late afternoon sun, or some kids enjoying their little motorized vehicles, or a woman sitting on a bench is shown from behind. Most of the images show evidence from the past existing in the present: old paintings, tables in a pub where people have gathered, outdated television sets or knick-knacks, souvenirs from someone’s past.

Howorth has succeeded in creating a photobook that makes us contemplate our own past and present, using British cultural scapes as a basis. This book is highly recommended for those who wish to spend some time considering their own history, using Howorth’s visual narrative as a foundation. Sometimes a “kind of silence” has much to tell us.

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The PhotoBook Journal previously featured my review of Ian Howorth’s Arcadia.

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Gerhard (Gerry) Clausing, Editor, PhotoBook Journal, is an author, photographer, and synthographer from Southern California.

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Ian Howorth – A Country Kind of Silence

Photographer: Ian Howorth (born in Peru; resides in Brighton, England)

Essay: Harry Gallon

Language: English

Clothbound hardback with sewn binding and illustrated dust jacket; 156 pages, unpaginated, with 85 images; 25 x 29 cm (9.75 x 11.375 inches); Printed by MAS, Matbaa Istanbul; ISBN 978-1-915652-03-4

Photobook Designers: Tom Booth Woodger and Ben Greehy

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Articles and photographs published in the PhotoBook Journal may not be reproduced without the permission of the PhotoBook Journal staff and the photographer(s). All images, texts, and designs are under copyright by the authors and publishers.