Page 44 - Flaunt 175 - Diana

Nowhere quite conjures the notion of summer ecstasy like Siberia. Yes, we know the often below freezing tundra doesn’t stimulate summer reveries like Capri or the public parks of Berlin, but that’s not to say it doesn’t embrace a separation from the school day, the rigorous social calendars of the spring and fall, or long lunches in the garden. Every- one, after all, deserves a summer, just as everyone is unfor- tunately seeing the nostalgic and canonical idea of summer disappear.
German photographer, Olaf Otto Becker, captures the varied landscapes of Siberia through a climate-focused lens in his latest title, Siberian Summer. The beautiful hardback is the sixth monograph of Becker’s that investigates the relationship of landscapes and human disturbance. “While researching the
scientific archives of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Climate Research,” Becker shares with us on the origins of the project, “I came across reports of eroding permafrost cliffs in Siberia. It was immediately clear to me that I would find the land- scapes there that would best illustrate my topic.”
The book is split into three parts; the first, “Walking along Permafrost Cliffs”, focuses on the array of problems caused by the melting cliffs on the remote islands of So- bo-Sise and Muostakh. As the sharp and grim cliffs loom over the sandy beaches, they release potent, trapped greenhouse gases as they melt, eroding and contributing to a potentially detrimental rise in sea level.
“It Has Been a Hot Summer” follows and highlights Beck- er’s journey alongside a group of researchers who monitor
OLAF OTTO BECKER. “LEW (12), SASHA (12), ARTJOM (7), FEDOR (12), ANDREJ (12), TIKSI, SIBERIA” (AUGUST, 2019).
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