Dear Sky / North Korean Aviation (signed)

Dear Sky is Arthur Mebius's photographic study of Air Koryo, North Korea's state-owned national airline, and of the routine that keeps its old aircraft and crews in working order.

The Eriskay Connection published it as a 128-page classic hardcover in English, 200 by 275 mm, in a first edition of 1,500. The publisher explains that sanctions and environmental restrictions have left Air Koryo with only China and Vladivostok as foreign destinations, so its Antonovs, Ilyushins and Tupolevs seldom fly abroad, yet the planes and their crews are kept ready. Occasional domestic flights let pilots and flight attendants keep their skills current. Mebius follows the crews through maintenance, checks and procedures, which the publisher likens to a rehearsed play, and the book adds fictive anecdotes based on true historical events. Rob van Hoesel designed it, Carel Fransen made the cartography, Marc Gijzen did the lithography and NPN Printers in the Netherlands produced it.

Mebius studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague. Alongside commercial advertising work he pursues personal projects with a strong interest in aviation. The publisher lists AOP, ADCN, ADCE, Cannes, Epica and the New York Photo Awards among the juries that have recognized his work.