Tranquil Waters Australia
SPECIAL ONLINE OFFER: Order your own copy of Tranquil Waters Australia online and it will be personally signed by the photographer Ian Carlson.
Tranquil Waters Australia, is a high quality coffee table book, featuring 60 breathtaking photographs of waterways throughout Australia. The images are accompanied by moving verses of Chinese calligraphy. This unique 100-page book provides its readers with the inspiration to explore, and a sense that they have embarked on a journey with the turning of every page.
This is the first in a series of five books by Carlson that will explore the five elements of Chinese life: water, earth, trees, metal and fire. The rivers, streams, lakes, waterfalls and spectacular seascape of Australia set the scene for the first element in this captivating series of elegantly hardbound editions.
Australian-born, self-taught photographer Carlson, whose images have featured in the prestigious Hasselblad competition – draws on his family’s Chinese heritage to convey a view of the country he calls home. Tranquil Waters Australia draws the reader into the Australian landscape with a very different vision.
The photographs are accompanied by 30 individually handcrafted calligraphy verses in Cursive or Xing Shu style from renowned artist, Franz Cheung. Awarded the Caran d' Ache Artist Of The Year in 1994, Hong Kong-born Cheung teaches calligraphy and Chinese painting at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and is the Vice-president of the Australian Oriental Calligraphy Society.
“I selected each image for the book for its raw emotional power,” Carlson explains. “Each image captures the evocative element of water, from which the calligraphy is composed with the subtle, natural strokes of Franz Cheung’s brush.”
The poetry, which forms the calligraphy verses, is adapted from various chapters in Chinese history, dating back to the Warrior Period, as well as some of Cheung’s original pieces.
“Each piece of calligraphy is unique to its accompanying image,” says Carlson. “The style varies from light and wispy strokes, conveying the speed and fluency of the water, to heavy, bold punctuation symbolising strength and power. The emotion expressed in the image is mirrored in the calligraphy.”
The Australian landscape has pervaded the imagination of artists for centuries. Carlson’s inspired drive to capture a new perspective of the continent aims to present an understanding of the land from one of its many cultures.
“As it is to many cultures, Australia’s landscape contours with many waterways, all of them beautiful in their own way,” Carlson says. “This is an element of life that is so often taken for granted, yet it is one of our most precious resources.”
