Mango Season doesn’t reveal itself at first glance. On its nearly entirely white cover, the title and the author’s name, Jenia Fridlyand, are printed in intaglio and can only be read at an angle, as the light reflects off the surface. On the back cover, a fragment of an image shows a small hand—one that leaves us wondering whether it is waving to us or refusing to be photographed. Aside from the colophon, acknowledgments, and a dedication, the book contains no text that would provide a key to its meaning. It is an experimental project in which every detail invites us to reflect on what a book of photographs is. The book was sequenced and laid out by John Gossage. It is one of three volumes published in the new collection by The Agency and Gerhard Steidl.
Born in Moscow in 1975 and having immigrated to the United States in 1989, Fridlyand came to photography relatively late in life through an MFA program at the University of Hartford. She is part of the quintessentially American tradition of Straight Photography. Yet all the images in the book were taken in Cuba, as if returning to a more familiar world. Another paradox is that her photographs were taken using a large-format view camera, but held in her hand, as if it were a point-and-shoot camera. This gives them a character that is at once massive and evanescent, sculptural and instantaneous, solemn and vibrant. The great strength of *Mango Season* lies, in large part, in the way these tensions are brought to life.
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At the Fondation, we believe in the essential role of the book in showcasing photographers’ work. Today, the photobook offers a level of creativity, quality, and awareness never before seen in the history of photography. That is why we feel it is important, through the Henri Cartier-Bresson Fondation “Book of the Month” feature, to highlight a recently published work that has made a particular impression on us.
The book will soon be available at the Fondation’s bookstore and online.
