If a picture is worth a thousand words Italian photographer Alessandro Sarno said a mouth full in his coffee table, photo book, Eleuthera: The Garden of Freedom and its complimenting travel guide, White Bull on the Highway – a beautiful way for armchair travellers to explore the idyllic island and for locals to rediscover favoured hideaways.
The official book launch and signing for Sarno’s latest photographic work, the second in his island series, is set for Wednesday at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas at 6:30 p.m.
Inspired by an island celebrated the world over for its beautiful pink sand beaches, Sarno’s book pays homage to Eleuthera.
Sarno had the idea of featuring a painting as the book’s cover rather than a photograph. He asked a dear friend and artist, Paula Boyd-Farrington to paint it, capturing the essence of Eleuthera such as the pineapples, pink sand, sun and vibrant colours of the island. The book is published by the Nassau-based company, Philautia.
A labour of love, the self-taught photographer whittled down his book to around 200 breathtaking images from 5,000 or so photographs taken during numerous visits to the island.
In providing a unique and in-depth look at Eleuthera through a creative compilation of extraordinary landmarks and little known facts, Sarno hopes to get domestic and international visitors fired up about visiting the historically rich island once home to English Puritans who embodied their collective dream of religious freedom in the name they bestowed upon the 110-mile long land mass – “eleutheria,” the Greek word for freedom.
