AFAR

exploring the distances between us and our changing habitat

AFAR is a series of inter-related, multi-discipline arts projects by the writer and filmmaker Opher Thomson. The works explore our changing relationship with the places we live and the natural world at large, with the hope of better understanding the deep feelings of separation and disconnect that seem so prevalent during this rapid and dramatic transformation of ‘home’. It is a project of listening, above all, in which the geographical reading of illustrative places is informed first and foremost by the voices of those who experience it. In turn, the works born from this process aim to encourage a wider, pluralistic conversation that allows the discussion to evolve. Film screenings, book presentations and installations are often therefore organised as participatory events, talks or seminars, so as to allow this ongoing listening process to flourish and indeed shape future pieces, while also converting those distances into connections. As such each piece acts as a kind of invitation, and asks:

where might we meet?

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OPHER THOMSON is a writer, photographer and filmmaker. His work concerns notions of home and the significance of place and landscape, often exploring the marginal spaces that give clues to our contemporary condition. His films have been screened at important film festivals such as Tallinn Black Nights, Torino Film Festival and Camerimage, and The New Wild: Life in the Abandoned Lands went on to be distributed theatrically throughout Italy before being printed and published in book format. His other books include the novel Travels Through Absence and the photobook The Place Between.