Book Review: “The Sniper Paused So He Could Wipe His Brow” by Sean Lotman
Maschere a Gattu, Sarule, Sardinia © Alys Tomlinson (courtesy of HackelBury Fine Art)
Within the pages of the mysterious, ominously titled The Sniper Paused So He Could Wipe His Brow is an exploration of memory, as well as a travelogue – a culmination of 95 images shot in 20 different countries over a 15-year span by Japan-based photographer and writer, Sean Lotman, using a Diana F+ lo-fi camera with handmade darkroom prints. “I'm intrigued by the flaw of misremembered pasts,“ Sean says in his artist statement for The Sniper. “Whatever facts are attached to an experience inevitably fade, while strange details are exaggerated and given primacy. I wanted to give form to this bewilderment” through the photo-book medium.
The book is divided into three parts, framed by Parts I and III in what Sean describes as a “choose-your-own-adventure” concept: by dividing the pages into quarters, viewers can engage with the book on different planes, experiencing four different seasons, places, times, and dreams at once. Flip through each photo in the book’s natural sequence, or juxtapose them to create surreal portraits and landscapes coexisting within the narrative, such as a shopping cart floating in a lily pond placed catty-corner to a portrait of a tiny dog sitting on a velvet chair. The hazy, soft-focus images lend themselves to unreality. Isn’t that how it feels when traveling to places that are new to us? Or trying to remember a familiar place, like home, only to have the memory of it slip from our grasp? These photos capture the fleeting emotions of time and remembrance, of the dizziness, elation, and euphoria that happens when one experiences something or someone for the first time.
Part II of The Sniper is full-page spreads and gatefolds, some accompanied by Sean’s haiku and poetry. The opening image of this section is of a forest, followed by a beautiful, painterly photo of what appears to be a baptism in a river, the image brought into focus by the poem illustrating it: “living life as if she were one breath from drowning she learned to swim well” – a clever way to begin the section with a rebirth and a reminder to live each day as it comes, directing viewers to experience the book and images among its pages in the same way. Another full-bleed image of a purple, blown-out, blurry cityscape captures the frenetic energy and elusive dreams of the people who inhabit it: “men hither, thither; fortunes made and lost – poets’ words read by no one.” One looks at the towering skyscrapers and feels the ache of artists and writers dissipating through the lavender mist – a haunting elegy to creative struggle and desire.
The Sniper Paused So He Could Wipe His Brow also stands as metaphor for the act of the photographer in the moment of taking the photograph: both work from places of concealment and aim carefully in order to target their subjects. While precision with a rifle is the sniper’s driving motivation, The Sniper features images taken with a toy camera – a temperamental little beast that often does not cooperate, leaving the outcome to fate. It is the perfect choice for a photo book that is so carefully constructed and evocative in its nonlinear storytelling powers – a tactile art object.
“The Sniper Paused So He Could Wipe His Brow” by Sean Lotman
Photographs and Text: Sean Lotman
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 96
Images: 51 plates
Dimensions: 15 x 30 cm
Publisher: IBASHO & the (M) éditions
Designer: Bureau Keyser
Edition: Limited edition 490 numbered copies + 40 special editions accompanied by an artist print
ISBN: 979-10-95424-24-6
Available for purchase Here!
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sean Lotman grew up in Los Angeles as a movie enthusiast, making frequent visits to the cinema. He had a keen interest in comic books, consuming them with an insatiable appetite. He spent his twenties and a significant part of his thirties on the road, nurturing his aspiration to become a fiction writer. Although his novels never saw publication, he stumbled upon the subtle joy of storytelling through photographs.
He has had four photo books published to date: Sunlanders (Bemojake, 2016), Middle Life Notes (Neutral Colors, 2019), Amoeba (Neutral Colors, 2021), and The Sniper Paused So He Could Wipe His Brow (The M Editions & IBASHO, 2021). His prints are proudly represented by IBASHO Gallery in Antwerp and Le Galerie Rouge in Paris. Lotman resides in Kyoto, Japan, with his wife, Ariko, their son, Tennbo, and their Kai Ken, Monk.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Lisa Toboz is a self-taught, Pittsburgh-based artist with a background in writing and literature. Her work explores self-portraiture and creativity as a form of healing using various Polaroid cameras and film. She is inspired by vernacular photography, Victorian spirit photography, and ‘70s supernatural movies, as well as reading fiction. Her recent photo books include Dwell (Polyseme, 2020) and The Long Way Home (Static Age UK, 2018). Her Polaroid photography can be found in various publications including LENSCRATCH, the cover of Reed Magazine Issue 156, SHOTS Magazine, as a featured artist in She Shoots Film: Self Portraits, and Polaroid Now (Chronicle Books, 2021). An editor by trade, she has exhibited internationally and is represented by Instantdreams Gallery (Palm Springs, CA).
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