Joaquim Seguí invokes silence and stillness in 'Illes i desierts'

PalmThe tools for combating the speed of today's world are very limited. And few possess the power and, at the same time, the subtlety of photography. Joaquim Seguí (Palma, 1951) demonstrates this once again in his fourth book, Islands and desertswhere he invokes silence and stillness, so absent from our daily lives, through a dialogue between images, poetry, and thought. "We are no longer even capable of reading a book calmly; too often we solve the problem with a distracted glance, which is the exact opposite of what any cultural creation demands," argues the photographer based in Ibiza. "Given this, it is necessary to defend a little rest. We have become accustomed to responding as soon as we receive a..." WhatsApp "And it's absurd. We must be able to think; we can't turn everything into a formality," he says. This idea underlies the more than two hundred pages that make up this new volume, published by Balàfia Postals, which the author will present this Friday, November 21, at Ca n'Oleo in Palma, accompanied by Diana de la de la, editor of Balàfia Postals, as well as sociolinguist Isidor Marí and philologist, actress, and theater director Àngels Escandell. The latter two, in fact, have contributed to Islands and deserts with texts that reflect on Seguí's proposal, which, according to Escandell, is defined as a "sublimation of images and words." In addition to them, other contributors include historians Rosa Rodríguez Branchat and Fanny Tur, and poet Bartomeu Ribes, who oversaw the poetic direction of the work. Thus, the images captured over more than 40 years by Seguí, a cardiologist by profession and photographer by vocation, are presented alongside verses by authors such as Charles Baudelaire, Miquel Costa i Llobera, Fernando Pessoa, Nora Albert, and Iolanda Bonet, to name a few.I was born to know. / That's why I don't want to be taught / to slander the essence of things."," says one of the quoted fragments by Blai Bonet.

Magic words

Beyond the words, however, the photographs collected in Islands and deserts They function as narratives and portraits of a duality explored in all its contradictions and complexities, bringing together a collection of landscapes that at times seem to be only one: a place from which to grasp everything that defines the human condition. "The symbolism of deserts is mystical: it invites reflection, rethinking; it's a magic word that suggests infinite correspondences," Seguí shares in conversation with ARA Baleares. "But it remains a physical space associated with distance, with a unique and unparalleled experience. The same is true of the word 'island,' which, in principle, might be linked more to life, to the color green, even to privilege. But doesn't it also make us think of isolation? On the contrary, it lives in complete collapse," the photographer reflects regarding his latest book, which follows the path of previous volumes. Veiled India and Cuban color, all with great care taken in the layout and presentation of each of the selected images.

In any case, the journey ofIslands and deserts It began in the early 1980s and made stops in places like the Namib Desert in Namibia; the Ganges River in India; and Old Bawn Beach in Iranda, as well as countries like Vietnam, Cuba, and Namibia. It also featured the Picos de Europa mountains, Playa Larga in Fuerteventura, and the Eagle's Nest in San José de sa Atalaya, among other landscapes in the Balearic Islands, including Menorca, and the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range. The essence of all these settings is represented to be experienced in all its immensity, without the human imprint interfering with the dialogue established between the artwork and the viewer. "There's only one character in the entire book, and that's the one on the cover," notes Joaquim Seguí, "the one who's part of a cave painting made 12,000 years ago. The photograph is from 1986, when I made my second trip to Tassili n'Ajjer, in the Sahara Desert. It's truly enduring, which means that anything is possible: an arid zone can emerge where there has been life, and vice versa."