Dum Spiro Spero
Exhibition and book
Exhibition and book
- Dum Spiro Spero
Date
- Rough dog press 2025
Info
- Photographs and text by Olof Jarlbro. Text: Sven Kristensson, Thomas Niklasson, Martin Schibli
24x28cm. Hardcover, Language Swedish English. - ISBN 978-91-981210-6-3
Dum Spiro Spero
Dum Spiro Spero takes you to the active Kawah Ijen volcano and is the only manually operated sulphur mine in the world. The work in the mine is called the worst job in the world because of the toxic gases around the crater, which measure 4o times higher than what can be considered acceptable for humans to stay in. The book and exhibition Dum Spiro Spero is the result of a unique collaboration with the Nederman Group, where the air we breathe is in focus.
"Kawah Ijen is one of the 130 active volcanoes in the Indonesian island kingdom and located in the most seismically active region in the world – The Ring of Fire. People from all over the world wait for the gate to open so they can hike up the 2,799 meter peak and down into its crater to see the blue glow, which has attracted researchers and travellers for more than two hundred years. Among the hundreds of tourists are about 40 miners, who are also waiting for the gate to open so they can start the day’s work. Sulphur mining began in 1968 in Kawah Ijen and remains the only manually operated sulphur mine in the world. It has long been called the world’s most damned job, due to the fact that many of its workers die before reaching the age of 40."
"“Jarlbro’s primary working method is to get close to the people he wants to portray and whose stories he wants to convey in his images. Random snapshots of people, who just happened to be there by chance, are rare among his photographs, although they do occur. His starting point is rather first to gain the trust of the individuals he meets and only then get their permission to portray them. In particular, the people who may not usually speak up and whose perspectives may thus be overshadowed. Many times it is people who are furthest away from the financial epicentre. It is their everyday life, living conditions and destinies that he wants to capture and convey. A single image that portrays something based on a person’s life conditions, but, together, a photographic series of specific individuals cumulatively also gives a perspective on how the world is made up on a macro level.”
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Martin Schibli
"On July 12, 2024, the Ijen volcano was closed after a significant increase in energy was observed. The potential hazards from the increased activity at the volcano included high concentrations of volcanic gases around the crater, due to solar activity and diffusion of gases from the interior of the crater to the surface, and frenetic eruptions. The sulphur miners left the volcano in a hurry because they feared for their lives. But every day the volcano was closed was a day the miners could not provide for their families. The Ijen volcano was officially opened again on September 8, 2024. How long it will be open, no one knows…"