Simon Lehner – How far is a lightyear?

How far is a lightyear? (2005-2019) investigates fatherhood, love, and the development of identity through family. It follows the viewpoint of a boy who resembles the state of balancing two conflicting sides, while being stuck in the firing line of a bad love story and domestic violence.

The title stems from a question I asked my father when I first met him in 2005, referencing the time passed since he left my family and the medium of photography. The series uses three dimensional scans and renderings based on images I took of my father dating back to 2005, when I was 9 years old. Through this method of digitally reconstructing him, I have the chance to make my father tangible in a digital space as I try to make a portrait without physical contact – hinting at the longing for a father, emotional, and physical distance, but simultaneously resentment due to his actions.

How far is a lightyear? is the winner of the Paris-Photo Carte Blanche Award 2018 and the Paris-Photo Ruinart Prize 2018.