When the music's over
Photographer Franck Sauvaire stepped on to the shores of Ibiza for the first time 16 years ago. He fell instantly in love. In his new book, Ibiza Isla En El Mar, Sauvaire offers a glimpse into the land he has enjoyed for so many years.
Unlike most photographic accounts of Ibiza, this looks beyond the famous party lifestyle that attracts thousands every year. Instead, it concentrates on the fragility of the tiny Spanish island so often lost in the whirlwind of commercial tourism.
Dry bracken hills, weatherworn buildings and desolate roads epitomise the slowpaced rhythm of Sauvaire's Ibiza, while electric sunsets and pebbly bays form beautiful backdrops to unspoiled towns and villages.
The topless and tattooed occasionally feature, intoxicated tourists and happy hippies, writhing in sunbaked pleasure.
Although Sauvaire's immense respect for the island in its natural state is obvious, he does not resent holidaymakers for their intrusion; he enjoys how Ibiza's antiquity and crazy reputation somehow manage to sit side by side.
Ibiza Isla En El Mar, Photography by Franck Sauvaire. Published by Day14 Ltd, £20. Available to buy at Exposure Gallery, 22-23 Little Portland street, London, W1W 8BU. Tel: 020 7907 7130 or online at www.day14.com
