Photos of Greenland – The Washington Post

Fast-forward a couple of decades and I can say with confidence that I still have not seen a lot of work on Greenland. At least for me, it remains a pretty mysterious place. The only work that comes to mind is Danish photographer Jacob Aue Sobol’s “Sabine.” And that happens to be a book far too expensive for me to get, so I’ve seen only snippets of it online.

But not too long ago, I was tagged by the artist and writer Brad Feurhelm on Instagram about a book he had received and thought I might be interested in. Turns out, the samples he shared on his account looked very compelling to me. It was a book by Greenlandic photographer Inuuteq Storch called “Keepers of the Ocean,” published by the Copenhagen-based Disko Bay.

The fact that this is a book about Greenland by someone actually from there and not just parachuting in makes it even more compelling for me. For a variety of reasons — some avoidable, some not; some even reprehensible — the White male perspective is more readily at hand than those of people native to a country, telling their own stories. We all need to do a better job of finding and highlighting that kind of work, including me.

Having said that, I find Storch’s book compelling on its own merits. It is a very personal and intimate account of life in Greenland. The photographs themselves are striking and diarylike. Looking at them is like being granted access to Storch’s private thoughts and world.

The photos eschew tidy compositions in favor of a more stream-of-conscious approach that allows us to enter into the everyday life of the people and places in Storch’s orbit.

At times, Storch’s photos are reminiscent of the aforementioned Sobol’s, but they also recall Richard Billingham’s searing personal portrait of his own family in his cult book “Ray’s a Laugh.” And they are earnest in a way that reminds me of the work of Danish photographer Jacob Holdt. What they all have in common is an approach that can feel less reined in from a technical standpoint but rewards you in spades with a personal point of view.

“Keepers of the Ocean” is first and foremost a love letter to life in Greenland, particularly life in Storch’s hometown of Sisimiut, surrounded and imbued with snow, the ocean and the elements. The photographs, made over three years, are described this way in the book’s introduction:

“Everyday images of friends, family, food and interiors form part of the subject matter combined with Storch’s own intervention and experimentation. Unstaged yet absorbing, intimate and vulnerable. His intuitive narrative style draws the viewer into the image, giving us the feeling of being present ourselves. A rare sight when it comes to portrayals of Greenland — exceptional, meaty and sorely needed.”

It cannot be overstated how unique this book is in its portrayal of a place we don’t often get to see. That is reason enough to get a copy. But the vibrancy and execution of the photos makes the book even more compelling.

You can find out more about Storch and his work on his website, here. And you can buy the book from Disko Bay here.