White Monks by Francesca Phillips

$800.00 - Please contact 23 Sandy for current availability.
This book grew out of a curiosity to understand what monasticism meant. To try and unravel the mystique of monastic life, the enigmatic otherness of monks, and in particular that of the legendary Trappists. Something like a fortress surrounds someone who has faith, it is an impenetrable conviction, but in spite of this my questions continued to grow. In particular, still, who is a monk? For those who hear the call to monastic life the ultimate desire is to concentrate on their faith. Their decision holds secrets and in them lies a poetic mystery. Made on black and white film, and including landscape scenes and semi-transparent images of woods interspersed as symbols of the outside world, the photographs in White Monks: A Life in Shadows offer an intimate glimpse, rarely seen by others, into an ancient way of life that is slowly disappearing; a testament to lives devoted to spiritual service, in extraordinary counterpoint to the modern world.

Artist Bio

Born in the UK and currently living in Spain, Francesca Phillips is a photographer and filmmaker whose work draws on anthropological practises. Covering a broad spectrum of subjects, she has won awards in both areas. Phillips began her career in unit stills photography for film and theatre productions, later training at Kodak's legendaryÿCentre for Creative Imaging, Maine. As a visiting lecturer at The Royal College of Art, London, she helped create the first teaching programs in what was then the very new world of digital imaging. ïWhite Monks: A Life in Shadowsï is her first venture into the world of book arts. It has been exhibited at book fairs in the UK and at Abecedarian Gallery, Colorado, and together with a selection of the photographs has shown at venues in Spain and the UK. It was recently acquired by the Herron Art Library at IUPUI through Vamp and Tramp.