The Humanness of Our Lonely Selves ─ Awoiska van der Molen

A photobook exploring windows, distance and existential solitude through a psychologically charged landscape of looking.

The Humanness of Our Lonely Selves is a photobook by Dutch photographer Awoiska van der Molen. While travelling through the islands of southern Japan, van der Molen encountered the scenes that would become the starting point for this work. In these regions, where the climate is mild, houses are often built with relatively thin walls. Yet as she walked at night, she noticed that what could be heard were only the sounds of television, the soft footsteps of socked feet, faint noises from kitchens, and the monotonous hum of air conditioning. There were no heated arguments, no loud laughter, no careless bursts of sound. This experience marked the beginning of a repeated return to Japan, and of her search to understand why these windows held such a powerful fascination for her.

In this work, the window functions as a screen separating the photographer—or viewer—from the world, while also marking the boundary between an inner psychological realm and external reality. Through the window, we are able to glimpse lives unfolding on the other side, yet no substantial contact takes place. The window embodies, at once, a longing for connection and a comfort in distance. In this sense, van der Molen approaches it as a symbol of the existential solitude that many of us must come to terms with in life, and from there constructs a form of psychological landscape photography.

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Title: The Humanness of Our Lonely Selves
Artist: Awoiska van der Molen
Publisher: Fw: Books, 2024
Format: Hardcover, leporello with 16-page insert
Size: 280 × 220 mm
Pages: 56
Language: English
Edition: First edition
ISBN: 978-90-833459-8-7

Condition: Mint (shrink-wrapped)