Sealskin. Jeff Dworsky. charcoalpress. Hardcover, Embossed Synthetic Leather w/ tipped-in image. 110 Pages. Edition of 1000

Jeff Dworsky dropped out of school at 14, bought a Leica at 15, and moved to a small island in Maine at 16. He became a fisherman. He met a girl, got married, and moved to an even smaller island. He built a life. He dug a well. Built a boat. Planted a garden. Set foundation stones. Built a house. Built traps. Raised sheep. He fathered three children.

His wife left the island and the life they had built. He stayed and raised the children. He fished for 40 years.
He is there still, on a small island in Penobscot Bay.

In his debut monograph, Sealskin, photographs of his life are paced to an old Celtic folktale about a fisherman who discovers a selkie—a mythical creature that can transform from a seal into a human—falls in love, has a family, but must let her go. This tale mirrors Dworsky’s own life, it is a story of desire, the erosion of time, and the inevitability of change. Using Kodachrome film, Dworsky documented his family, daily life, and the fishing community in a small Maine village during the 70-80s, capturing a world that no longer exists.