It truly is a curious thing, the way certain books find their way to you, speaking a language you did not even realise you longed to hear. And for me, Jan Čihák’s A few stones from Eastern Front is precisely one of those quiet, unassuming treasures that has, against all expectations, resonated deeply. I have always found myself drawn to the peculiar beauty of things found in nature, the unexpected geometry, the subtle textures, and as a father who has spent countless hours on the beaches of Stonehaven and Aberdeen with my middle lad, himself now nineteen, attempting to balance rocks, there is an immediate, almost primal connection to Čihák’s work. We know the quiet focus, the delicate patience, the sheer delight when a precarious stack holds its breath against the sky.

This book, one of only four hundred first prints, a privilege I do not take lightly, is a testament to what might, on the surface, appear to be a simple subject. I can absolutely understand how someone, approaching this from a purely conventional artistic standpoint, might glance at these images and think, “Oh, it is simply some pictures of rocks.” But as I always try to impress upon my readers, the real magic happens when you pause, when you try to get inside the artist’s mind, and truly invest in what the book is striving to portray. And within these eighteen images, Čihák invites you into a world where the ordinary becomes extraordinary.
The core impulse here, as Čihák himself articulates, is “Being amazed by what I see, the need to collect, to classify and to order, the interest in the coexistence between humans and Nature.” That perfectly captures the essence of what I find so captivating about these compositions.

They are aesthetically appealing, these delicate arrangements of rocks, creating visually striking and harmonious compositions. The contrast between the raw, ancient textures of the stones and their precarious, almost impossible balance is nothing short of captivating. It is the very tension between the ephemeral and the eternal that draws you in.
Turning the pages, you move from one quiet revelation to another. There is an image that shows a single, almost pyramid like rock, standing solitary in a desert expanse. It speaks of endurance, of time, of the vastness against which our own fleeting existence is measured. Then, the scene shifts to a forest, where several stones are balanced so neatly on top of each other amidst the gnarled roots and dappled light, suggesting a moment of perfect equilibrium found within chaos. Each image, whether it is a collection of stones forming an almost bodily shape at the very edge of a cliff, or a single, large round rock part buried in the shifting sands, whispers of the artist’s keen eye and unwavering patience.

These stone arrangements, we discover, were all found in the Daxue Mountains by the Geshirts River in Sichuan, China. Knowing this location adds another layer to the experience, hinting at the remote, untouched landscapes where such meditative acts of creation could unfold. There is a profound sense of calm that emanates from these photographs. Rock balancing, at its heart, evokes a deep tranquillity and mindfulness, for the act itself demands unwavering focus and an almost meditative patience. Viewing these perfectly poised structures inspires a similar sense of quiet contemplation, a momentary reprieve from the relentless clamour of the everyday.
For me, the symbolic resonance of these balanced rocks is particularly poignant. They often speak of harmony, of balance in an unbalanced world, and of the sheer resilience found within nature, and by extension, within ourselves. This philosophical undercurrent resonates deeply, inviting you to reflect on your own life’s precarious balances, your own quiet acts of resilience. This book is far more than simply a collection of pictures of stones, it is a gentle invitation to pause, to look, and to find beauty and meaning in the most unassuming of forms, reminding us that true artistry can emerge from the simplest of interactions between human intention and the raw majesty of the natural world. It is a profoundly soul settling way of seeing.
Regards
Alex
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