Hans Silvester - Kalach, artist's book

Kalach brings together a series of 26 original photographs by Hans Silvester, taken in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley.

The work enters into dialogue with a biographical text devoted to Mikhail Kalashnikov, situating the book within both an aesthetic and critical reading of the circulation of this weapon of war. With Kalach, Le Renard Pâle composes a “pocket exhibition,” built around original photographic prints captured among the Surma people.

The gaze cast upon these images reveals a tension between formal beauty and the reality of their subject. In counterpoint, the historical inscription of the Kalashnikov opens another, more subterranean reading. This interplay shifts the work toward a broader reflection on the circulation of forms and symbols.The book asserts a direct material presence, reinforced by its handcrafted leather binding, which gives each copy a unique, physical, and powerful identity.

Galerie Retour de Voyage is particularly attentive to this tangible quality of the object, in both its material density and its presence. Le Renard Pâle bring together the text of a poet or writer with the work of a visual artist—painter, photographer, sculptor, or beyond, within a thoughtfully and elegantly designed setting. Patricia Dupuy and Bernard Soria are both the instigators of these remarkable encounters, where artist and writer engage in dialogue, and the creators of these books, which become works of art not only through their content but also through their distinctive forms.

Each edition is produced in a limited number of copies (30 at most), numbered and signed by both writers and artists.

All artist books by Le Renard Pâle are available at the gallery.