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Alister Benn is Scottish by birth and has lived in the Highlands of Scotland for quite some time. Firstly on the Isle of Skye and latterly in mainland Lochaber. And yet his first book is a deep dive project into the remote Gobi desert in Northern China. The dislocation at first seems surprising, but as we dig a little deeper, it’s this distance that has allowed Alister to discover something new about himself and his photography. Out of Darkness is a story of “the meaning of a life and the story of a life of meaning.” A look at how the abstract can become a catalyst for creativity and change.

The subject of Alister’s project, abstract sand dune photography, isn’t a novel one. Photographers have been fascinated by the fluidity and abstract nature of the desert, where the shapes of the dunes drift and reform as the wind carries the sand across the landscape. Since the early 20th Century, photographers such as Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Georgia O’Keefe and Edward Weston have visited the US desert landscape and found their own abstract vision of the land. The desert dune environment in the US is now a ‘must visit’ iconic location, and some of the sense of isolation must have been lost over time.

You can’t say the same for the subject of Alister’s desert environment. The Chinese Gobi Desert is about as far removed from the US as you can imagine, both geographically and culturally. Alister lived in China for over a decade, but it was only when he returned on specific photography trips that the environment changed his whole outlook on photography. Prior to this, most of his work was of the heroic Western modality; dramatic landscapes of mountains, canyons and gorges. Over the space of a few years and repeated trips, Alister had developed a new approach to photography. His Expressive Photography breaks down to luminosity, contrast, colour, geometry, and atmosphere, and these aspects show quite clearly in his project.

The core idea of the project is an exploration of the dune environment and its changing tones and colours throughout the day as a metaphor for Alister’s personal enlightenment and development. It’s a simple idea, start with dark images taken during night or twilight and gradually explore the transition to full sunlight. As with anything, though, the devil is in the details. The images included in the book are as good as any dune photographs I’ve seen, and the sequencing and visual journey slowly draws you out of the darkness of night, through the twilight and on to the full illumination of the day.

As for the book itself, it’s exquisitely printed in Italy, and the design is simple and minimal, letting the images do their work - a testament to Darren Ciolli-Leach’s experience. As I browse, the images flow past me, sometimes surprising, sometimes expected. Often striking, like the blast of colour or light or intriguing, a hidden bush in the shade of a dune. I was initially of the opinion that there were perhaps too many images in the book but on repeated browsing, I can see how the experience of transition from one image to the next is like the meditative state of observing the dunes as the light changes and new forms are seen. Naturally, there will be highlights, just as we might recognise the visually ‘cool’ scenes, but we’ll also see moments of normal beauty. The world isn’t spectacular day in and day out. There are a few moments in the book that I’m not sure about. Facing images that are just crops of each other or the section where the images are rotated ninety degrees. But I’m being picky, and perhaps I’m not recognising something (possibly a Wabi Sabi Easter Egg!?)

Overall, I can highly recommend Alister’s first book. It is so much more than a typical ‘best of’ album or geographical exploration that many photographers’ books deliver. I would love to see more ‘deep-dive’ photographic projects such as this.

You can buy Alister’s book from his website, and he’s very kindly shared a 10% discount on the standard and deluxe books using the discount codes ‘STANDARD10’ and ‘DELUXE10’.

Book Photos

Sample Images