I do not know that much about Hatleberg’s work. I did get a copy of his last book, River’s Dream, as I had missed out on Lost Coast, his first book with eminent American publishers TBW Books. My surface reading of River’s Dream suggested a post-Soth investigation of American topography. I was reminded of Doug Dubois, Alec Soth, Kristine […]
Once in a while, I’ll encounter photographs that scratch or even scar me, embedding themselves into the same subconscious archive that catalogs and buries trauma. I can’t eliminate them; they resurface at the strangest times. Whenever my daughter’s bath water gets too cold, or I’m standing over a tub from a particular vantage point, a […]
There is a strange and perplexing photograph in Curran Hatleberg’s photobook, River’s Dream (TBW, 2022), which shows a man with a large swarm of bees attached to his face and body. The image is bewildering. The man is sitting down in a chair, with no protective gear, and his eyes are closed. His hands are […]