GoSee Book Tip : Martin Essl ‘Le bateau ivre, Paris 2019–2023’ – an artists’ book of the finest quality featuring surreal-poetic images
The title ‘Le bateau ivre’, or The Drunken Boat, which was photographed between 2019 and 2023 in Paris, refers to the poem of the same name by Arthur Rimbaud. In 1871, Rimbaud wrote his poem ‘Passport for Paris’ at the age of seventeen, in which he uses the image of a boot as a metaphor for a man’s journey through life. In a poetic photographic essay structured like a play in five acts, Martin Essl redraws the outline of a city undergoing transformation and, by doing so, composes an abstract contemporary map of Paris.
“Against the backdrop of crises and in memory of recent events as complex as they are tragic, Martin Essl would like to give expression to a new era that fluctuates between disillusionment and the frenzy of necessary reconstruction. To this end, he employs different contours and perspectives. Initially following the path of surrealists, the framework of this photographic endeavor is provided at first by water features and mirrors, vertical and horizontal lines, or even day dreams. ‘Le bateau ivre’ takes viewers on a tour of Paris that reveals an eternal return to the ‘same’; similar to a curtain endlessly opening and closing. As if diluted and transformed, shaped by variations of cold hues, the Parisian space gradually disappears under the surface as geographical, social, cultural, and temporal boundaries are dissolved. ‘Le bateau ivre’, with its Parisian scenes, depicts a city and its inhabitants undergoing reconstruction – as if trapped by introspection.” Sarah Sauquet, Paris 2024.
Martin Essl is an Austrian photographer based in Paris. He studied at the University of Arts Linz in Austria and at the National College of Arts and Design in Paris. His first book, ‘Le Chateau Rouge No 1’, was published by Kehrer in 2015. The title is a reference to a Paris Métro station transformed here into a fictional place. It is the starting point of Martin Essl’s journey through Paris and various other European destinations with the aim of capturing images with special colors and lights at the heart of everyday life.
His photography projects are often autobiographical and explore the relationship between people, the city, time, and memory. He is represented by Galerie Esther Woerdehoff, Paris. For further information, please visit martinessl.com.
Martin Essl ‘Le bateau ivre, Paris 2019–2023’
Created by Martin Essl
Hardcover bound in linen with tipped-in plate and slipcase,
22.5 × 30 cm, 240 pages, 149 color illustrations.
ISBN 978-3-96900-173-8, € 60.00
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