Zoltan Dobos
In the Wake of the Longest Day, 2023
Limited Edition: 5 + 1 AP
C-type Prints, Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, Mounted on Aluminium, 90 x 60 cm
Artist Book, Self-Published, 2023
I was born in Hungary, a landlocked country, which is maybe why I am attracted to the sea. In this project, I look at coastal landscapes at the main sites of the Allied forces’ D-Day landings in Normandy during WWII Operation ‘Overlord’ in 1944. The naval assault by the Allied forces took place on five beaches, Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. During my research, I came across a sound recording in the archives of the Imperial War Museum, in which a soldier, Private James Henry Bellows, described his experience of landing in the Gold Beach sector.
The soldiers who set off for Normandy in 1944 knew that they had to fight not only the power of the sea but also the enemy that was waiting for them. Private Bellows served in the 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment, which was among the first to begin the landing. His story inspired me to follow his journey from the rehearsal for the landings to the D-Day itself, and to photograph the places that he would have seen.
With my photographs, I aim to acknowledge both the natural world and the memory of the soldiers who fought and died in this war.
Stacked
Rolling Hills
Grainfields
Treeline
Ruins