River's Dream
Curran Hatleberg
Curran Hatleberg (born 1982) spent a decade, between 2010 and 2020, photographing in the American south to produce River’s Dream. He has documented contemporary living in the small communities in the south east of the country. River’s Dream is a follow-up of 2016’s Lost Coast.
Most photographs in River’s Dream are taken in northern Florida. I was once in northern Florida myself. I can remenber the heat and intense humidity, which made it hard to undertake anything. That same languid feeling is visible in the photos in River’s Dream.
And there is more. Generally photographs capture a moment in time. But Hatleberg is able to suggest there is more than just the moment he has photographed. The past seeps through in the pictures. It makes you wonder: what has happened before ? Hatleberg makes you think about the lives of the people he photographed. In some cases he unveils something more of his narrative by arranging multiple pictures of the same subject. But there is still plenty to guess.
River’s Dream shows the life of everyday Americans living in small communities. Communities made weary by neglect and disappointment. When young and unhappy you’re still willing to fight to achieve the American Dream. Growing older you notice you’re going nowhere. Later in life, you learn to accept the hopelessness and desolation, enjoying the little things of life. The American Dream of wealth and status is replaced by River’s Dream of family and friends.
Despite the desolation and poverty, the images still have that sense of hope and ease. Hatleberg creates a visual poetry that is haunting and otherworldly.
The intitial 1000 copies of the first edition was pretty much pre-sold. A second print quickly followed with 2000 copies. But this is also already hard to get.
River’s Dream
Photographer: Curran Hatleberg
Publisher: TBW Books
Published in 2022, 1st edition 1000 copies, 2nd printing 2000 copies
Casebound with dust jacket, 152 pages, 65 color plates, 29 x 34 cm
Texts by Natasaha Trethewey and Joy Williams
Shortlisted for the 2022 Paris Photo – Aperture Photobook of the Year award
Chosen by people immersed in the photobook world as one of their favorite photobooks of 2022