= Our copy numbered “1” and with an extra print of one of the silkscreen plates loosely added. Spring 1996 Frans Baake visited the last bits of France in North America, a tiny group of islands called St. Pierre & Miquelon. Lying off New Foundland coast they contain a specific French atmosphere. The island of Miquelon in fact consists of two islands: Miquelon and Langlade. Once they were separated, now they are linked by a dune on which a lot of ships were wrecked. On the smallest point this dune has a width of only 250 metres. The artist pedaled the isthmus by mountainbike. On his way to the island’s smallest point he took photographs of every kilometersign on the road. He collected 22 kilometers and brought the landscape of that specific moment together. The book also contains 22 silkscreen prints; 22 situations in landscapes, leading to a spectacular ending. Frans Baake travels to unknown, windswept, foggy, remote and apparently unattractive islands, such as the archipelago of St. Pierre and Miquelon, or the Aleuthians. He is fascinated by islands and their bold, naked landscapes and prefers to explore, to observe and wander about in desolate tracks and remote areas. Islands are by definition places that stand out. The islands that Baake visits tell their own story. During his travels, Frans Baake makes sketches, photos and notes. The journey is then translated into a work of art, namely an artist's book, which he publishes himself in a small edition. In artists' books, the image usually dominates. The countless artist books that Baake has made are full of photos, woodcuts, linocuts, screenprints, collages and texts. The books are not literally about his travels and are therefore not comparable to the way we make our photo album or diary after a holiday. Baake’s way of working is similar in general: he prepares for his voyage, at the actual trip he will make drawings, writings, photographs; in his studio back home these together with his thoughts and ideas will be transformed into books, prints, sketches, portfolios, articles.