Bastard Sun

Book of the Month, The Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson.
20 × 30cm, 184 pages, softcover.
ISBN 978-3-95476-604-8
edition 500, English/Georgian.
Published by Distanz and Kona books.

The photographs in this book were taken between 1996 and 2001, mostly on Agfa 35mm negative film—a preferred choice in Georgia at the time. Years later, the acetate began to deteriorate, new scratches appeared, and I began to scan them. The texts were written when I could finally return to Georgia, having lived in the UK for five years as an asylum seeker.
I spoke to the house rats, Mount Ushba, the high-rises opposite our house, a retired general, a peddler, and a goldfish, as I tried to remember past wanderings—getting lost, with or without friends, who also got transformed.

“For those unfamiliar with the language, the rounded shapes of the Georgian alphabet used for the transcription give the work an ornamental beauty. This contrasts with the starkness of the photographs, which resemble mental images or scenes seen in passing. The colour and graphic design of the cover are reminiscent of the Flower Power hippie books published in California in the 1970s. In the contemporary photobook landscape, Bastard Sun is a much-needed and unusual book,” Fondation Cartier-Bresson.

Bastard Sun + Edition

Giclée Print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag
Edition of 50 (+ 2AP), signed
50mmx70mm, unframed

Sophio Medoidze

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