ØYVIND HJELMEN: Moments Reflected

NOTE: Skeleton Key Press is SOLD OUT of this title. Several copies remain available from the author, Øyvind Hjelmen.

In his second monograph, Norwegian photographer Øyvind Hjelmen welcomes viewers into his richly poetic and mysterious photographic world: Moments Reflected. Expanding on his portfolio of the same title by including works not previously published or exhibited, the lyrically sequenced and meticulously printed duotone plates presented in this volume are characterized by deep shadows, bursts of penetrating light, and the gauzy aesthetics often associated with analog photographs made using plastic or other low-tech cameras. Yet beyond Hjelmen’s command of craft and masterfully honed aesthetics, his enigmatic photographs maneuver slowly below the surface. On this subliminal level, the personal becomes universal and alludes to the human experiences of memory, fear, loss, sexuality, hope, nightmares, and doubt. As the widely celebrated Norwegian novelist Lars Saabye Christensen suggests in his essay that opens the book, “. . . doubt is an artistic force. . . . Hjelmen’s viewpoint is never that of one who is absolutely certain, but of one who seeks.” Thus, Moments Reflected endeavors to reward the intuitive and contemplative viewer/seeker as, page-by-page, the visually poetic narrative unfolds like a dream.

Awarded Book Photographer of the Year/First Place - Moscow International Foto Awards

Awarded Bronze/Fine Art Books - Tokyo International Foto Awards

REVIEWS:

Analog Forever｜Nowhere Diary｜Lenscratch｜Fotografi

“[Øyvind Hjelmen’s] photographs are enigmatic. They are saturated with enigma. The formula of the enigma is as simple as it is unfathomable: there is always something absent. Øyvind Hjelmen suggests, he does not determine. . .” —Lars Saabye Christensen, from the essay in Moments Reflected

“These are not your typical and too often seen low-tech camera images, but those that bear substance in their elusiveness, and when presented to tell their story in sequence, paint a story worthy of attention and praise.” —Michael Kirchoff, Analog Forever magazine

“These photographs truly evoke. The photographer’s light embrace, or embrace of light, gives a flash of clarity to the unseeable. These are photographs you feel as much as see.” —George Slade, Black & White, June 2022

“Øyvind Hjelmen conveys a bewitching passion for light that discerns its subjects without defining them. The play of bodies, materials, and shapes creates a kind of memento, but one that is not based on anyone’s memory.” —Xavier Soule, Owner, Agence VU’ & Gallerie VU’

“Øyvind Hjelmen’s photos reverberate with a visual language of archetypes, memories, and dreams.” —Jim Casper, Editor-in-Chief, LensCulture

“Øyvind Hjelmen’s world is elsewhere; his images reflect an internal landscape where reality has no access and daylight rarely penetrates.” —Laura Serani, Curator

“The closing words (of Lars Saabye Christensen’s essay) well summarizes the basic tone of Moments Reflected: ‘. . . absence is a motif very much present in Øyvind Hjemen’s images.’ And it is in this absence we find small hints of something more. But the story about what has happened, who these people are, is up to us as observers to create.” —Pål Otnes, Fotografi

“Alarming and breathtaking. . . . Øyvind Hjelmen’s images blend with the viewer’s memory.” —Ketil Bjørnstad, pianist, composer and author

“In his pictures Øyvind Hjelmen manages to find the exact moment when something invisible becomes visible in what you see.” —Jon Fosse, Nobel laureate (Literature 2023)

ØYVIND HJELMEN has worked with photography for over 25 years and specializes in masterfully hand-printed black and white gelatin silver prints, hand bound artist books and portfolios, and large format unique photograms. He holds a BA in Modern Art and Aesthetics from the University of Bergen. His works have been exhibited in 15 countries and are held in a number of public and private collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Moments Reflected is Hjelmen’s fifth book, and is conceived as the second part of Hjelmen’s trilogy, which began with Elsewhere (Kehrer, 2010) and will conclude with Broken Shadow at a later date. He lives and works on the island of Stord, off the west coast of Norway, where he also co-directs the artist-in-residence program at Halsnøy Kloster, Sunnhordland Museum.

LARS SAABYE CHRISTENSEN is one of Norway’s most prominent and celebrated writers. Since his debut in 1976, Saabye Christensen has written numerous novels, collections of poetry and short stories, as well as several plays and children’s books. His novel Beatles is one of the greatest literary commercial successes in Norway.

Published by Skeleton Key Press, March 2020
ISBN 978-0-9997553-1-0
24 x 28 cm (9.4 x 11 in)
Clothbound hardcover, 72 pages, 41 duotone plates
Edited by Øyvind Hjelmen and Russell Joslin
Designed by Kjersti Hjelmen and Russell Joslin
Essay by Lars Saabye Christensen
Text in English and Norwegian

First Edition limited to 350 copies, signed and numbered by the artist