Cover for ATMOS 09: Afterlife shot in Borneo, Indonesia

Elizabeth Kolbert, the Pulitzer-Winning Author of the Sixth Extinction, Craig Foster, the Oscar-Winning filmmaker of “My Octopus Teacher” and Whitney Bauck discuss alarm and wonder amid the biodiversity crisis.

Read more on Atmos.

Nowness - The Nunchuck Princess. Directed by Zhao Dan, styled by Frida Liao. Watch the film on Nowness.

“It’s only been about 20 years, but the land is rich in diversity and is full of plants, insects, and other living things,” said Daiki. “If there were strong traces of human activity, let alone pesticides, it would look nothing like this. Each plant would be more selfish, and there would be bias in the selection of plants that grow. Natural farming is also ‘subtractive farming.’ It involves thinking about how much of the work you are currently doing can be deduced. When we reach zero human activity, we have succeeded: it’s how we will return to nature, like this place.”

The Value of Natural Farming for ATMOS.

Whitelies Magazine, the 12th Issue - ‘Closure’

“Whitelies Magazine,” as we know it, will come to a close with the release of our 12th and final issue, aptly titled “Closure.” This decision was far from easy, as we grappled with the delicate balance between the world of high-quality publishing and the challenging realities of the contemporary magazine industry. Ultimately, we realized that this format has its inherent limitations, and the time has come for a transformative journey into new territories.

For me personally, Whitelies Magazine has been an inseparable part of my identity, and taking this step is undeniably daunting. Yet, I firmly believe that stepping beyond one’s comfort zone often yields remarkable growth. „Whitelies Magazine“ was never meant to be a permanent endeavor, and as I reflect on more than a decade of pouring my heart into it, I am immensely proud of what we’ve collectively achieved over the years. I have always thrived on working on projects—ones that embark on a journey, evolve, and eventually find their natural conclusion, paving the way for something new. Within the confines of the rigorous magazine publishing schedule, this evolution often felt challenging.

Whitelies will endure in a new form. We’re actively working on fresh ways to express our creativity and connect with our community. I’m eager to share our upcoming projects when the time is right. However, today is about reflecting on our remarkable journey over the past eleven years and the virtue of embracing change. Our final issue, coming in November, is deeply personal and breaks away from our usual format. It’s a captivating visual exploration of the theme of “Closure,” seen through the eyes of the artists who’ve profoundly influenced us.

ATMOS: The Soul of the World. 

“At its core, even our spirituality is Earth derived. The human and the Earth are totally implicated, each in the other…If there is no spirituality in the Earth, then there is no spirituality in ourselves.”

—Thomas Berry, “The Spirituality of the Earth”

We are at a moment of enormous crisis in which every major institution—political, economic, educational, and religious—seems to be unraveling before our eyes. This moment is being described as a polycrisis of social and environmental challenges, including wars that drag us further into dead ends of militarism and empire. We are looking for ways through a morass of problems that seems insurmountable. We feel in the dark because we have lost our way, our connections, our grounding. Ecoanxiety engulfs us; climate grief enwraps us. All we want to do is turn off the barrage of awful news.

For the 8th issue of Atmos. Read on.

Whitelies Magazine, the ‘Identity’ Exhibition

Fraught with social, cultural and political connotations, Identity is the medium through which we express and adopt signifiers. It’s that funny thing that acts as a connective tissue, joining us as particular individuals to the general or universal. It’s the question “Where are you from?” met with pause, and more pause. There are those who answer with conviction, while there are others who answer differently each time, but all of us speak of identity with our mouths full.  What follows? Is our relationship to our identities a mix of pride, estrangement or shame? We could brandish our signs like hearts on our sleeves, or they are the comfort blanket that helps us to sleep well at night. We let others tie us up neatly up in a bow, sticky package label slapped on, hard to shirk. In strange ways, we find our- selves straying far from our roots, living in radically foreign places, just to inculcate a sense of longing; perhaps to long is part of what it means to belong, or at least more than we tend to think.  

In this exhibition, the painfully intimate portraits of men by Nobuyoshi Araki’s protégé Sakiko Nomura subverts the ‘male gaze’; Zhong Lin reinterprets Satoshi Kons’ anima- tion “Perfect Blue” (1997), a nightmarish story about a youth pop idol who tries to outgrow her own image; Takashi Homma tails a model called Raiki around her everyday life in Tokyo; self-taught Hong Kong photographer Chan Wai Kwong reinvents the image culture he became acquainted with through his father, a news photographer.  

Also lending visuals and voice to the idiosyncrasies of identity, Osamu Yokonami, Charlotte Stouvenot, Stefan Dotter, Stephane Sednaoui and Lena C Emery further explore its joys, aches and discontents. For Identity, above all, is what leaves us with that age-old existential puzzle: even if at the worst of times our differences appear pro- nounced, we look around the room and see plainly that we have managed to arrive here together, apart.  

The artists presented in the exhibition are channels of both Eastern and Western identities, and serve to highlight the magazine’s aims to foster dialogue and forge an intercultural bridge between the two spheres. Working closely with the artists on the editorial commissions from concept to materialisation, the work here celebrates the past year of reflection and collaboration.

Group exhibition with Charlotte Stouvenot, Lena C. Emery, Osamu Yokonami, Stefan Dotter, Sakiko Nomura, Zhong Lin, Stephane Sednaoui, Chan Wai Kwong, Takashi Homma & Bennie Gay.

Whitelies Magazine, the 11th Issue - ‘Identity’“

In retrospective the “I”, that I am, was for the majority of my twenties an uprooted entity. I sought out journeys for their difference in context and meaning, and I wound up in numerous settings that would strengthen my sense of self. Identity was some sort of performance to me; in every new environment I would “cherry pick” it for evidence of who I am. I would present the most appropriate facet of myself, because I was strongly aware that this version would be accepted and make my quest to integrate in communities was much easier. As shallow as it may seem, I never considered this deceitful. I like to imagine myself as shape with many faces – I just turn to a new angle of myself to catch the sun each time. But as you present these nicely curated angles of yourself, you naturally start hiding other angles as well. I felt estranged from my roots, and my nationality was something I had a hard time identifying with. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I often felt ashamed of being German, but I never understood it. And yet now that I live and work in Japan, a country that is so profoundly different from where I come from, I feel a very strong identification with my actual roots. It only took me 8,915.55 km of distance to finally return to my own roots, so that they can become yet another part of my identity.    

This meditation on the term, however, is at once a privileged and very personal one. We are grateful to have had the chance to explore the theme of “identity” from a great number of different voices and positions within the pages of this issue. In “Shadows in the Network” C.J. Gartillou and Tam Mei Lin consider “shadow children”, a societally marginalised people barred from national identification, and with it, employment, travel, education, healthcare. Musical legend Terry Riley shares with us the spiritual and ethical dimensions of his work and outlook. Kiko Mizuhara and Yoon Anh the particularities of being ethnically Korean and working in the cultural industries in Japan. We are thrilled to re-print Amanda Lee Koe’s titillating Singapore-based short story “Pawn”, which charts the relationship between people from different cultural worlds, a collision also present in Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook’s artwork “Two Planets”, as is discussed by Sandy Yu. Photographer Zhong Lin reinterprets Satoshi Kons’ animation “Perfect Blue”, a story about a youth pop idol who is attempting to shed this image for that of a serious actress. We explore expressions of cultural and individual identity in food with a statement by chef Anaïs Ca Dao van Manen; a quarantine food diary by Zoe Suen; and a personal essay on language whose fulcrum is “Sweet Buns” by Elaine Tam. The issue is opened and closed by the deeply intimate work of Nobuyoshi Araki’s protégé Sakiko Nomura, and features further photographic works by the likes of Takashi Homma, Bennie Gay, Chan Rim and Chan Wai Kwon, to name but a few.  

The notion of identity is a blessing and a curse alike. Identity marks the beginning and the end of everything; within it is the moment our species separated itself from the rest of the world. When we identified that a tree is a tree, when we called an acorn an acorn, we gave birth to separation. In philosophy “identity” is a predicate which functions as an identifier – a marker that distinguishes and differentiates one object from another object. Why do we build identities? In which instances are they expressions of passion and belonging, in which instances are they a spawn of fear? My personal history attests to the way identity can be built through fear, anxiety and the search for external validation, and I can imagine it is like this for many of us. Gradually, however, I believe it has been changing. And it is a profound experience when we are moved less the external, but by an appreciation of what is internal. Is the only true identity what we feel when we sit still, the object of our body at last disentangled from such thoughts? I hope you find yourselves in these pages as we have done. Enjoy, dear reader. “                          

       
         - Letter from the Editor, Stefan Dotter

ATMOS: Listening as a Radical Act

Indigenous people are experts on planetary health. It’s why Health In Harmony, a nonprofit dedicated to reversing global heating, is listening to and acting on the experiences of rainforest communities across the world. Health In Harmony was founded on the knowledge that rainforest communities are experts on planetary health. It’s why they arrived in Xipaya Indigenous Land—a region in northern Brazil that was in 2015 ruptured by the construction of Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam—with no agenda and no plans. Instead, they asked the Indigenous people living in the territory’s five villages what they needed. For Juma Xipaia, the territory’s first female leader, the respect and recognition of Indigenous knowledge and expertise was a pleasant surprise. “It’s no use to wish to understand our needs without hearing directly from the communities and seeing the reality of each individual,” she said. “[That’s why] Health In Harmony was very well-received.” Since their collaborative work began, the first Xipaya project—with support from Health In Harmony—will be a traditional medicine center to revitalize the use of Indigenous healing practices. The Xipaya are also evolving the Carimã village, with the aim of preserving traditional customs and knowledge systems after the damage caused by Belo Monte.

Read on.

“I love the raw emotion that emits from this image and the pure joy I feel looking it. The humanity seeps through in every detail and choice, compositionally and through the use of color (and lack there of). I was drawn to the expansiveness of the image as well as its simplicity.”

                                                            – Alex Prager

Life Framer 2020 by Alex Prager
Palm Photo Prize 2021 Shortlist


Press

British Journal of Photography
ItsNiceThat
This Is Paper Magazine
Huck Magazine
Common Language Magazine
C 41 Magazine

FUNDRAISER FOR AFGHANISTAN / EXPO

Together with photographer ERE Foundation and activist Sabrina Herzog, Stefan Dotter has united the work of 100 engaged photographers around a print sale, dedicated to the evacuation and resettlement of his 8 Afghan photography students. This fundraiser by photographers for photographers will enable 8 Afghan photography students to establish a life and profession outside of Afghanistan, while developing their photographic practice through future workshops.  The images will be on view and available for purchase at the Sheriff Gallery, Rue de Turenne 53 - 75003 Paris. Get your print at ere.earth/gallery.

“For the past two and a half years the Afghan photographer Farzana Wahidy, myself and a group of friends were working together on a joint mission in collaboration with UN agencies to hold photography workshops for a group of 8 ex-refugees who had recently returned to Afghanistan. Both a very intense and rewarding experience, it allowed me to witness the struggle Afghan people face on a daily basis, while being myself completely absorbed by the immense progress they were making over a short period of time.  

As you of course know, the situation has turned especially dark in the past weeks and together with friends, colleagues and generous institutions our utmost priority over the last weeks has been to find an opportunity for the students to leave the country. The eight students part of the photography programme are currently in danger for the following reasons:  -

As many in Afghanistan's Hazara Shiite community, the families of these young people suffered a campaign of persecution during the civil war of the 1990s and the first Taliban regime that forced them to flee to Iran. After the Taliban was overthrown in 2001, they returned to Afghanistan, believing they were safe. However, as we know from August 15th, the Taliban took over the government in the country so their lives are in danger once again;

- In addition to the Taliban, the Korashan Islamic State (also known as ISIS-K) sees Shiism as a heresy to Islam, and its attacks against the Hazara minority in particular have already killed hundreds, adding to the terror in the lives of an already vulnerable population.

- Another downside is that these photography students are categorised by extremist groups in the same way as journalist. As reported by human rights groups there is a growing threat to journalists in Afghanistan, at least 11 journalists were killed in targeted attacks in 2020 according to Amnesty International. Since 2001, more than 50 journalists have been killed in Afghanistan, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

- 6 people in the group are women. The threat of violence has always been a harsh reality for Afghan women but the impositions made by the Taliban government, already demonstrated by actions like the announcement of a full men's interim cabinet or banning certain sports for women, go beyond violence to an exclusion from life in society.

NGOs, government authorities from third-party countries, individuals concerned by the cause and myself have joined forces to support their emergency humanitarian visa applications in order to secure their safety and wellbeing. While the visas are currently in the process of being granted by a benevolent country, the students need their travel expenses covered (e.g. plane tickets, PCR tests, transportation, etc) as well financial support for the first 6 months to assure their stability and independence in a new country. In the context of this collective effort, the fundraiser will enable the students to establish a life and profession outside of Afghanistan, while developing their photographic practice with the help of other photographers.  

All donations received will be managed by the ERE Foundation and distributed to the NGOs responsible for their resettlement in the new country. All donations will be distributed equally to the young photographers as soon as they arrive in their new home country.  

While we are in advanced discussions with NGOs in their country of resettlement at this time for security reasons we will only share details on the student’s resettlement once they have safely reached their destination country.

You are welcome to contact us at hello@ere.earth if you have any questions or concerns or if you can offer any other support.  

It is very important for us to be 100% transparent about where the funds are going and how they will help. Also what happens to the funds if we are not able to evacuate the students. In this case we would like to donate the funds to a non-profit, non-political organisation that supports photographers in Afghanistan through education, exhibitions, legal support, protection and much more. In the case that we raise more funds than necessary for the resettlement of the students, we are creating a trust fund for their future, which they can be used for necessary equipment, education & basic needs.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give these young people. I know each and every one of them will be immensely grateful for even the smallest donation.  While for security reasons we are unable to disclose the real identities of our students, thank you for your understating.”              

 - Statement by Stefan Dotter, 2021

Mathilde Agius • Danielle Alprin • Philippe Arlt • Alina Asmus • David Avazzadeh • Tess Ayano • David Baum • Edgar Berg • Kristin Bethge • Anthony Blasko • Jeff Boudreau • Anna Breit • Brendan George Ko • Kira Bunse • Juliette Cassidy • Kevin Castanheira • Ali Kate Cherkis • Lee John Clayton • Lauren Coleman • Volker Conradus • Elaine Constatine • Laura Jane Coulson • Elena Cremona • Matthieu Croizier • Jack Davison • Katrien De Blauwer • Quentin De Briey • Théo De Gueltzl • Max Dorsogna • Stefan Dotter • Laurence Ellis • Brad Elterman • Phil Engelhardt • Daniel Etter • Peter Fisher • Jermaine Francis • Maria Johanna Fritz • Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek • Gavin Green • Luca Grottoli • Marie Haefner • Amanda Hakan • Estelle Hanania • Jamie Hawkesworth • Alyssa Heuze • Hill & Aubrey • Alex Huanfa Cheng • Larissa Hofmann • Carlijn Jacobs • Jesse John Jenkins • Tom Johnson • Jack Johnstone • Kinga Katanics • Marc Krause • Adam Kremer • Dylan Kronen • Brendan George Ko • Charlotte Lapalus • Robbie Lawrence • Chloe Le Drezen • Massimo Leardini • Lucas Lehmann • Crista Leonard • Wai Lin Tse • Thomas Lohr • Maddy Minnis • Joachim Müller-Ruchholz • Nikki McClarron • Katsu Naito • Hans Neumann • Ina Niehoff • Anouk Nitsche • Zhenya Posternak • Remi Pujol• Mafalda Rakos • Jody Rogac • Alice Schillaci • Yannick Schuette • Sednaoui Stephane • Maximilian Semlinger • Emine Sevim-Zendegi • Laila Sieber • Flavia Sistiaga • Alec Soth • Mika Sperling • Charlotte Stouvenot • Julien T Hamon • Tajan Sophie • Marius Uhlig • Jonas Unger • Cyrille de Vignemont • Massimo Vitali • Alexandra Von Fuerst • Farzana Wahidy • Wrey Eddie • Watkins CT

British Journal of Photography & Palm Photo Prize 2021, Shortlisted

“Dotter’s project focuses on the details within the everyday rituals of the ama: female free divers preserving the ancient art of sea foraging. Dotter was able to make contact with the Nakagawas, an ama family based in Toba, Mie Prefecture. They invited him to stay at their home for a fortnight, to photograph mother anddaughter, Shizuka and Sanae, and their daily rituals passed down through generations of divers. “They offered me a glimpse into this tradition,” says Dotter, whose work focuses on the details of their daily rituals: the dainty metal attachments of their diving masks, a pair of feet moments before disappearing beneath the surface of the water, and a wooden barrel bobbing over its ripples.  

“What draws me towards the tradition is the fact that it’s fading away, and I want to preserve it somehow,” says Dotter. “This is what also draws me so much to documentary photography… Some things don’t last forever. But we can make it last a little while longer with the work that we do.”  

Link to article. BJP.

Image Licensing now via Connected Archives

A vast selection of Dotter’s work is now available for licensing via Connected Archives. It is an international collective of like-minded photographers ranging from upcoming talents to established and award-winning artists. Working within the realms of portrait, documentary, fashion, and fine-art photography, our pictures live on the pages of renowned newspapers and magazines. With our poetic and personal approach to photography, our visual language speaks to both commercial and artistic purposes.

Click here.

Whitelies Magazine 9th issue themed ‘Permanence’

Stefan Dotter announces the release of hist latest issue exploring the theme of ‘Permanence’ on the 3rd of May. The studios most heartfelt issue yet on which we worked throughout the last year.  

“As the magazine has progressed through the past 9 years, with different shifts of focus, we strongly feel that with this issue we are finally able to show our readers our essence and path forward into the future. Positioned as an inter-cultural bridge between the Asia-Pacific and what we perceive as the west, we dedicated this issue to some of the brightest artists working in Japan and also went in-depth with those creatives that are strongly connected to the East. It is an honor to take you on this trip, during a time where journeys are scarce. While most of the world looks at what is currently changing in this global whirlwind of events, we are focusing on what stays - on what is permanent. Our cultural hunger for exploring new worlds and connecting them to our own is something universal that, I should like to imagine, will continue to endure.”

Pictures without Borders

Pictures Without Borders is photographers from all over the world, across genres, raising awareness towards the current global crisis and raising funds to support countries and regions most affected. MSF has a global response to the pandemic and the consequences of the global lockdown that causes limited acces to general medicin, medical aid, healthcare and food in countries and regions most affected. To read more about MSF's global response please visit msf.org

All prints cost 100€ and are in editions of 50. When buying a print for 100€, a donation of 70€ will be made directly to MSF in your name. The remaining 30€ is held for printing and packaging cost, all proceeds from the print and packaging cost will be donated to MSF. This fundraiser is registered with The Danish Fundraiser board.

https://www.aardvark-editions.com/

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