Snow offers an intimate photographic exploration of Kars, a Turkish city steeped in centuries of complex history. Once the capital of Armenian kingdoms and later a strategic frontier for Byzantines, Seljuks, and Ottomans, Kars embodies the cultural and political entanglements of empires. A pivotal moment came with the Russian takeover during the 1877–78 Russo-Turkish War. Following repeated sieges, Russia annexed Kars and established the Kars Oblast under a military-native government, reshaping its demographics and governance. This project reflects on the layered past of Kars—from colonial transformations and ethnic migrations to shared human experiences—challenging Orientalist narratives by revealing universal connections. The book features several texts that intertwine images with the intricate social context. Dr. Kübra Zeynep Sarıaslan also examined Snow by Orhan Pamuk from an anthropological perspective and contributed an essay to the book.

Max Sher is a photographer and visual artist based in Berlin since 2021. Born in St. Petersburg, raised in Siberia and educated in Siberia and France as a linguist, he took up photography in 2006, first as photojournalist, then also as an artist. He is primarily interested in the representation of built environment, architecture, and infrastructure, as well as in investigating local/problematic histories. His work was exhibited as part of solo and group shows at AFF Gallery Berlin, Museum der Trostfrauen (Berlin), Calvert22 Gallery London, Format Festival (UK), Noorderlicht Festival (Netherlands), Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Alexey Shchusev Museum of Architecture, Triumph Gallery, PERMM, Yeltsin Center, among others.