Self-published photobook by Roelant Meijer
The stranger on my left is called Ali and he is driving on the road to Semnan as if he is playing a video game.
Every mistake will cause us to be game over, but Ali is not letting anything discourage him. He is seeing more lanes than the other road users. And they often already see more lanes than visible on the road.
Like a cold-blooded doctor suturing a wound, Ali is maneuvering his Peugeot 405 between two giant, Persian-looking, smoke-ejecting trucks. Honking loudly, so there is no doubt for everyone around us where we are located.
This way, he is creating yet another lane, like he is used to do in Teheran. The only difference is that the average speed on this road is three times as high. But I have to admit: we did not crash.
1.301 kilometres left until I am in the desert…..
Taxi / Dasht-e Lut is a double edition: two paired books
The first part is Taxi: Travelling through the desert is difficult. Water is a problem, all-terrain vehicles can get stuck, the heat and the cold wear you down. But sometimes getting to the desert is an even bigger task than traveling there.
Dasht-e Lut, the second part, is an immersion into the wonderful world of the desert with large empty plains, sand dunes up to 300 meters, strangely shaped Kaluts. And the vastness, the eye-catching emptiness that radiates tranquillity and makes you dream.
MORE DETAILS:
All are printed on the right paper to match the photos. The title sheet is letterpress printed, the whole is hand-colored and hand-bound with a cahier stitch to create a refined whole.
Double issue TAXI / Dasht-e Lut
Each 40 pages 20 x 11 and 20 x 30 cm, handbound with cahier stitching
Printing: Mostert en van Onderen! (offset), Peterprint (FC), De Toekomst (PMS), Bert Rigters en Roelant Meijer (letterpress)
ISBN 978-90-817221-5-5
NOTA BENE: the cover of Dasht-e Lut will show wear and weathered edges, just like the desert itself. This is part of the concept: the book shows the desert in all its facets.