In 1991 the Danish photographer Krass Clement captured a series of images of Dublin during three short visits. The photographs have now been published in a book for the first time, over 25 years after their creation.
Shot at angles, with furtive glimpses into doorways and down urban backstreets, Dublin gives the impression of walking at pace and staying in the shadows. Dublin by Krass Clement is published by RRB PhotoBooks (£45) to coincide with an exhibition at The Gallery of Photography, Dublin, which runs until 14 January 2018. All photographs: Krass Clement, courtesy of RRB PhotoBooks.
The sense of movement is accentuated by the figures on the street, who are in a perpetual state of transit – on foot, on the bus, or in a brief moment of respite before moving on again.
Shot in black and white, these photographs appear to show a city not rooted in the late 20th century, but rather a Dublin out of time, monochromatic in both rain and sun.
As a stroll through the city, Clement’s work marries the traditions of Scandinavian melancholy and the ‘flaneur’ tradition from the Parisian schools a stroll through the city, Clement’s work marries the traditions of Scandinavian melancholy and the ‘flaneur’ tradition from the Parisian school.
Clement’s preferred medium is the photobook, using sequencing to build an imaginary and intangible narrative frame by frame.
Krass Clement was born Copenhagen in 1946 and is a self-taught photographer. He graduated as a film director from the Danish Film School in 1973, and when it became evident that his future was not to be in the film he returned to the photography he had practiced since his youth.
He published his first photo book, Skygger of øjeblikke (Shadows of the Moment) in 1978 and since then has published more than 20 titles.
His best-known book, Drum, captured the local residents of a pub in the small Irish village of Drum, which has a population of fewer than 200.
