HOEDT, Axel. Dusk.

Göttingen: Steidl, 2015. First edition. Hardcover. 22 by 18 cm. 96 pages. With 59 colour photographs. Following on from the earlier Once a Year Hoedt once again turns his attention to Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht, the traditional pre-Lenten carnival celebrated across southwestern Germany this time extending the geographical scope of the earlier volume into Austria and Switzerland. The festival has its roots in the period preceding Lent, but its customs, masks and elaborate costumes are highly specific to individual towns and villages, with distinctive figures handed down through generations. Hoedt photographs these extraordinary masked characters away from the crowds and spectacle of the celebrations, placing them against stark winter landscapes, rural buildings and simple studio backdrops. Combining formal portraits, Polaroid snapshots and still lifes, Dusk transforms the bizarre and often sinister figures of Fastnacht into an enigmatic study of a deeply rooted regional tradition. A near fine copy in dust jacket.