Jens Olof Lasthein: Far Near

“Far Near” is a visual roadtrip to the far geographical corners of Europe and to its very center. The four corners are Iceland to the north west, the northern Ural mountains to the north east, the Caucasus to the south east and Portugal to the south west. Beyond these regions it is no longer Europe.

Jens Olof Lasthein discovered that drawing diagonal lines across the map between these corners they cross each other in what must logically be the center of Europe: Belarus, a country he knows well. Still, the thought that this is the center of Europe never struck him. On the contrary, Lasthein writes that travelling around the country often reminds him of the backwater where he grew up.

The panoramic photos and text from all five destinations are intertwined all through the book. The reader will never know for certain where he/she is, hinting that although geographical origin is important, more factors are decisive in human life than what corner of the Europe one happens to live in.

Thematically, the book challenges the notion that a midpoint is always central and outposts are always marginalized. From what viewpoint do we form our shared reality? Furthermore, it advocates the idea that Europe still is the geographical entity it used to be – not just another word for the European Union. In consequence it alters the now-established perspective of the continent. In the book, the reader is taken through a display of sceneries, portraits and situations dealing with human conditions and states of mind, all aimed at creating both surprise and recognition.