As described in this 2017 publication, Air Koryo, the state-owned national airline of North Korea, keeps a fleet of Antonovs, Ilyushins and Tupolevs ready even as international sanctions and environmental restrictions have narrowed its international network to China and Vladivostok. These older aircraft rarely fly abroad and therefore seem superfluous, yet the planes and their crews are kept ready for operation. In Dear Sky, photographer Arthur Mebius observes the routine operations of the crew, which appear as a rehearsed play of maintenance, controls and procedures—a ground-control dance from which an image of dedication and pride arises. Occasional domestic flights matter greatly, allowing pilots and flight attendants to practise and keep up their knowledge and skills.

Published by The Eriskay Connection in 2017, the book is a classic hardcover of 128 pages, measuring 20 by 27.5 centimetres. Rob van Hoesel designed it, Carel Fransen handled cartography, Marc Gijzen lithography, and NPN Printers production. Arthur Mebius is the photographer. The first edition was 1,500 copies. The book is complemented with fictive anecdotes based on true historical events.

What distinguishes Dear Sky is its attention to labour and routine inside a closed system. The airline is presented not as spectacle but as a workplace whose procedures must be sustained, and the ordinary gestures of the crew become the centre of the narrative. For readers interested in photography that examines systems of control through daily practice, and in the collaboration between photographer, designer and publisher that shapes a book as an object, this is a considered example.