Restoration
Erik Sahlin
Artist’s Note: Akko is a city that is very close to my heart. It was here that I started enjoying photography again after a yearlong hiatus. As a volunteer for an urban development project, I spent many days meandering in the ancient alleys, meeting people and documenting their lives.
Among other places, I spent a few days at the site of a building restoration project, getting to know the workers and listening to their stories. Shadowing them with my camera got me thinking about the concept of understanding other cultures and people, and how working together with someone is the best way to get to know them, to take their measure and get a sense of their character and their abilities.
Erik Sahlin was born in Sweden and spent most of his childhood on the family farm there. He also lived for three years in Africa, where his parents were foreign aid workers. This early experience abroad gave birth to wanderlust and curiosity, which came to be the central themes of his life. He has since visited more than fifty countries on five continents, many in his capacity as a freelance photographer.