Up Close

For a long time, Mongolia had been pulling at me in a way I cannot explain – as if something meaningful awaited me there. It took years before I reached it. But when I finally arrived, I was swept away. A biting climate and freezing winters, with a harshness that touched every aspect of life. And yet the people I met seemed to live on an entirely different plane – warm, open, welcoming, sharing all they had.

Up Close is the outcome of many journeys within Mongolia over the course of three years. But perhaps it was never really about this place at all. With each return, I realised Mongolia was only a pretext. Every journey led me deeper into myself – a turning inward, a return to the source. All of it pursued with a camera in hand and – as the title suggests – very, very close. I photographed what drew me in: beauty and imperfection, light and darkness, the everyday and moments that revealed themselves as magical. Listening to an inner voice, I sought out people I sensed had something to share with me. Yet many of the most moving encounters – and the images born from them – happened by chance. Or perhaps not?

From these frames emerged my own deeply personal story. I hope that as you experience it, you’ll feel inspired to give shape to one of your own.

Sometimes all it takes is a glance, a gesture, or a fragment of landscape to stir what lies hidden, awaken a memory or emotion, and lead you into your depths.