British photographer Michael Kenna’s photos, exclusively in black and white, are small-format prints of great finesse, whose subtle bends give them a singular poetry. Whatever the continent he travels, the artist focuses primarily on wild landscapes and urban representations void of any human presence. Faithful to black and white, Michael Kenna has collected in Holga, his new monograph published by Prestel British editions, photographs of the intervention of the urban environment taken with his camera Holga, from his personal archives and in unpublished majority. Very easy to use, the Holga reveals small traces, displays bad exposure or blur. Despite these flaws, Kenna masters this device with dexterity, thus returning to a more direct and pure practice. For the artist, the Holga is proof that expensive equipment is not essential to make a good photograph. He explains, “I’m not really against technology. I simply chose not to adopt it entirely, because I am still satisfied and surprised by the traditional methods of photography. The book presents nearly 120 black and white shots taken around the world: France, Senegal, Egypt, Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, China … Each of the images has its share of technical imperfections, but the mastery of composition, framing and light brings them a certain poetic depth, almost mystical. In spite of their rudimentary appearance, these refined and artistic photographs bear the marks of the brilliant work of Michael Kenna.
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