Hotel of Eternal Light
by Karolina Spolniewski
Photographs: Karolina Spolniewski
Text: Karolina Spolniewski
Publisher: BLOW UP PRESS
200 pages
Pictures: 71
Year: October 2024
ISBN: 978-83-965969-5-6
Price: 72 €
Comments: 225x300 mm. Hardcover with holographic (for offset) or silver (for digital) foil. Papers: Munken Print Cream 115g, Novatech Gloss 150g. English and German
We associate light with hope, redemption and salvation. For us, light is an announcement of something new and good. But what if it had a completely opposite meaning? If it were to be used to deprive us of any hope, would it serve to subordinate one person to another, to take over one’s thoughts, to permanent surveillance?
Hotel of Eternal Light is a visual investigation of dictatorships and totalitarian systems in the recent history of Europe. Using an example of the abuse of power by the Stasi, the secret political police of the former communist German Democratic Republic, the book focuses on the use of light as a form of control, torture and communication code.
Photos for the book were taken in the former secret Stasi prison in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. Not knowing where they were being held, its former prisoners described it as the Hotel of Eternal Light, where constant artificial lighting was a tool to suspend time and annihilate their inner selves. To break the psyche of prisoners, various methods of white torture and light were used, from X-rays, through light corridors, flashing lights, blinding, to black isolation. As Hannah Arendt describes in The Origins of Totalitarianism, such a radical experience in isolation and loneliness leaves us unable to experience the world, unable to make sense of reality, unable to trust our own sense of the self.
In addition to documentary photos taken in the prison and its hospital, the book also uses other media, such as scans of traces, photographs of items belonging to prisoners, portraits of prisoners, experimental X-ray scans, archival photos and fragments of conversations with former prisoners conducted over the last few years.
In the light of the currently growing popularity of totalitarian doctrines, Hotel of Eternal Light is also an attempt to address, what our freedom actually consists of in severe times of loneliness and how much potential the inner urge for it reveals in the face of an imposed ideology.
more books tagged »Germany« | >> see all
-
Hanne Darboven. Am Burgberg (signed)
by Julia Gaisbacher
Euro 52.80 -
The Need to Know (signed)
by Michael S. Honegger
Euro 68 -
Fachwerkhäuser
by Bernd & Hilla Becher
Euro 35 -
people things (signed by Henry Schulz & Gerry Badger)
by Henry Schulz
Euro 52.50 -
Companions
by Yana Wernicke
Euro 51.70 -
Köln. Ein rheinischer Planet (signed)
by Manfred Linke
sold out
more books tagged »archive« | >> see all
-
Magnum. A World of Photography
by various photographers
Euro 38 -
Dame Gulizar and Other Love Stories
by Rebecca Topakian
Euro 68.50 -
Jamais je ne t'oublierai (last copy)
by Carolle Bénitah
sold out -
Umschläge (last copy)
by Peter Piller
sold out
more books tagged »prison« | >> see all
-
Prison Museum
by Nicolo Degiorgis
sold out -
Prison Photography
by Nicolo Degiorgis
sold out -
Serpe Velenosa (signed)
by Valentino Barachini
Euro 49
more books tagged »light« | >> see all
-
Annual report ZUMTOBEL
by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA
Euro 20 -
Towards The North (signed)
by Daisuke Yokota
sold out -
Textures of Light: Achille Bologna Photographer
by Achille Bologna
Euro 77 61.60 -
Into the Light (signed - last copy)
by Yusuke Yamatani
sold out -
Preganziol, 1983 (last copy)
by Guido Guidi
sold out
more books tagged »documentary« | >> see all
-
Archive
by Sofia Coppola
Euro 72 -
Monument (last copy - second printing)
by Trent Parke
Euro 250 -
Walks (signed)
by Morten Eriksen
Euro 65 -
Traces and Tracks - a thrity-year journey with the San (signed)
by Paul Weinberg
Euro 25 -
Italia (last copy)
by Thomas Hoepker
Euro 49.50 -
Das fotografische Werk
by Josef Dapra
Euro 28
more books tagged »interviews« | >> see all
more books tagged »history« | >> see all
-
The Saxons of Transylvania
by Pascual Martínez & Vincent Sáez
Euro 49 -
The Italian Photobook 1931-1941
by Giorgio Grillo
Euro 46 -
Durch Deutschland
by Hans Wiesenhofer
sold out -
Gertrud
by Maja Daniels
Euro 62 -
Geschäfte mit Kopien
by Michael Ponstingl
sold out -
A Parallel Road (signed - last copy)
by Amani Willett
Euro 35
Random selection from the Virtual bookshelf josefchladek.com
Hotel of Eternal Light
by Karolina Spolniewski
Photographs: Karolina Spolniewski
Text: Karolina Spolniewski
Publisher: BLOW UP PRESS
200 pages
Pictures: 71
Year: October 2024
ISBN: 978-83-965969-5-6
Price: 72 €
Comments: 225x300 mm. Hardcover with holographic (for offset) or silver (for digital) foil. Papers: Munken Print Cream 115g, Novatech Gloss 150g. English and German
We associate light with hope, redemption and salvation. For us, light is an announcement of something new and good. But what if it had a completely opposite meaning? If it were to be used to deprive us of any hope, would it serve to subordinate one person to another, to take over one’s thoughts, to permanent surveillance?
Hotel of Eternal Light is a visual investigation of dictatorships and totalitarian systems in the recent history of Europe. Using an example of the abuse of power by the Stasi, the secret political police of the former communist German Democratic Republic, the book focuses on the use of light as a form of control, torture and communication code.
Photos for the book were taken in the former secret Stasi prison in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. Not knowing where they were being held, its former prisoners described it as the Hotel of Eternal Light, where constant artificial lighting was a tool to suspend time and annihilate their inner selves. To break the psyche of prisoners, various methods of white torture and light were used, from X-rays, through light corridors, flashing lights, blinding, to black isolation. As Hannah Arendt describes in The Origins of Totalitarianism, such a radical experience in isolation and loneliness leaves us unable to experience the world, unable to make sense of reality, unable to trust our own sense of the self.
In addition to documentary photos taken in the prison and its hospital, the book also uses other media, such as scans of traces, photographs of items belonging to prisoners, portraits of prisoners, experimental X-ray scans, archival photos and fragments of conversations with former prisoners conducted over the last few years.
In the light of the currently growing popularity of totalitarian doctrines, Hotel of Eternal Light is also an attempt to address, what our freedom actually consists of in severe times of loneliness and how much potential the inner urge for it reveals in the face of an imposed ideology.
more books tagged »Germany« | >> see all
-
Hanne Darboven. Am Burgberg (signed)
by Julia Gaisbacher
Euro 52.80 -
The Need to Know (signed)
by Michael S. Honegger
Euro 68 -
Fachwerkhäuser
by Bernd & Hilla Becher
Euro 35 -
people things (signed by Henry Schulz & Gerry Badger)
by Henry Schulz
Euro 52.50 -
Companions
by Yana Wernicke
Euro 51.70 -
Köln. Ein rheinischer Planet (signed)
by Manfred Linke
sold out
more books tagged »archive« | >> see all
-
Magnum. A World of Photography
by various photographers
Euro 38 -
Dame Gulizar and Other Love Stories
by Rebecca Topakian
Euro 68.50 -
Jamais je ne t'oublierai (last copy)
by Carolle Bénitah
sold out -
Umschläge (last copy)
by Peter Piller
sold out
more books tagged »prison« | >> see all
-
Prison Museum
by Nicolo Degiorgis
sold out -
Prison Photography
by Nicolo Degiorgis
sold out -
Serpe Velenosa (signed)
by Valentino Barachini
Euro 49
more books tagged »light« | >> see all
-
Annual report ZUMTOBEL
by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA
Euro 20 -
Towards The North (signed)
by Daisuke Yokota
sold out -
Textures of Light: Achille Bologna Photographer
by Achille Bologna
Euro 77 61.60 -
Into the Light (signed - last copy)
by Yusuke Yamatani
sold out -
Preganziol, 1983 (last copy)
by Guido Guidi
sold out
more books tagged »documentary« | >> see all
-
Archive
by Sofia Coppola
Euro 72 -
Monument (last copy - second printing)
by Trent Parke
Euro 250 -
Walks (signed)
by Morten Eriksen
Euro 65 -
Traces and Tracks - a thrity-year journey with the San (signed)
by Paul Weinberg
Euro 25 -
Italia (last copy)
by Thomas Hoepker
Euro 49.50 -
Das fotografische Werk
by Josef Dapra
Euro 28
more books tagged »interviews« | >> see all
more books tagged »history« | >> see all
-
The Saxons of Transylvania
by Pascual Martínez & Vincent Sáez
Euro 49 -
The Italian Photobook 1931-1941
by Giorgio Grillo
Euro 46 -
Durch Deutschland
by Hans Wiesenhofer
sold out -
Gertrud
by Maja Daniels
Euro 62 -
Geschäfte mit Kopien
by Michael Ponstingl
sold out -
A Parallel Road (signed - last copy)
by Amani Willett
Euro 35
Random selection from the Virtual bookshelf josefchladek.com
Hotel of Eternal Light
by Karolina Spolniewski
Photographs: Karolina Spolniewski
Text: Karolina Spolniewski
Publisher: BLOW UP PRESS
200 pages
Pictures: 71
Year: October 2024
ISBN: 978-83-965969-5-6
Price: 72 €
Comments: 225x300 mm. Hardcover with holographic (for offset) or silver (for digital) foil. Papers: Munken Print Cream 115g, Novatech Gloss 150g. English and German
We associate light with hope, redemption and salvation. For us, light is an announcement of something new and good. But what if it had a completely opposite meaning? If it were to be used to deprive us of any hope, would it serve to subordinate one person to another, to take over one’s thoughts, to permanent surveillance?
Hotel of Eternal Light is a visual investigation of dictatorships and totalitarian systems in the recent history of Europe. Using an example of the abuse of power by the Stasi, the secret political police of the former communist German Democratic Republic, the book focuses on the use of light as a form of control, torture and communication code.
Photos for the book were taken in the former secret Stasi prison in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. Not knowing where they were being held, its former prisoners described it as the Hotel of Eternal Light, where constant artificial lighting was a tool to suspend time and annihilate their inner selves. To break the psyche of prisoners, various methods of white torture and light were used, from X-rays, through light corridors, flashing lights, blinding, to black isolation. As Hannah Arendt describes in The Origins of Totalitarianism, such a radical experience in isolation and loneliness leaves us unable to experience the world, unable to make sense of reality, unable to trust our own sense of the self.
In addition to documentary photos taken in the prison and its hospital, the book also uses other media, such as scans of traces, photographs of items belonging to prisoners, portraits of prisoners, experimental X-ray scans, archival photos and fragments of conversations with former prisoners conducted over the last few years.
In the light of the currently growing popularity of totalitarian doctrines, Hotel of Eternal Light is also an attempt to address, what our freedom actually consists of in severe times of loneliness and how much potential the inner urge for it reveals in the face of an imposed ideology.
more books tagged »Germany« | >> see all
-
Hanne Darboven. Am Burgberg (signed)
by Julia Gaisbacher
Euro 52.80 -
The Need to Know (signed)
by Michael S. Honegger
Euro 68 -
Fachwerkhäuser
by Bernd & Hilla Becher
Euro 35 -
people things (signed by Henry Schulz & Gerry Badger)
by Henry Schulz
Euro 52.50 -
Companions
by Yana Wernicke
Euro 51.70 -
Köln. Ein rheinischer Planet (signed)
by Manfred Linke
sold out
more books tagged »archive« | >> see all
-
Magnum. A World of Photography
by various photographers
Euro 38 -
Dame Gulizar and Other Love Stories
by Rebecca Topakian
Euro 68.50 -
Jamais je ne t'oublierai (last copy)
by Carolle Bénitah
sold out -
Umschläge (last copy)
by Peter Piller
sold out
more books tagged »prison« | >> see all
-
Prison Museum
by Nicolo Degiorgis
sold out -
Prison Photography
by Nicolo Degiorgis
sold out -
Serpe Velenosa (signed)
by Valentino Barachini
Euro 49
more books tagged »light« | >> see all
-
Annual report ZUMTOBEL
by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA
Euro 20 -
Towards The North (signed)
by Daisuke Yokota
sold out -
Textures of Light: Achille Bologna Photographer
by Achille Bologna
Euro 77 61.60 -
Into the Light (signed - last copy)
by Yusuke Yamatani
sold out -
Preganziol, 1983 (last copy)
by Guido Guidi
sold out
more books tagged »documentary« | >> see all
-
Archive
by Sofia Coppola
Euro 72 -
Monument (last copy - second printing)
by Trent Parke
Euro 250 -
Walks (signed)
by Morten Eriksen
Euro 65 -
Traces and Tracks - a thrity-year journey with the San (signed)
by Paul Weinberg
Euro 25 -
Italia (last copy)
by Thomas Hoepker
Euro 49.50 -
Das fotografische Werk
by Josef Dapra
Euro 28
more books tagged »interviews« | >> see all
more books tagged »history« | >> see all
-
The Saxons of Transylvania
by Pascual Martínez & Vincent Sáez
Euro 49 -
The Italian Photobook 1931-1941
by Giorgio Grillo
Euro 46 -
Durch Deutschland
by Hans Wiesenhofer
sold out -
Gertrud
by Maja Daniels
Euro 62 -
Geschäfte mit Kopien
by Michael Ponstingl
sold out -
A Parallel Road (signed - last copy)
by Amani Willett
Euro 35
Random selection from the Virtual bookshelf josefchladek.com