Fallen Empire first book will be available starting from May 5th. It can be ordered directly via the Fallen Empire website.
The book contains 82 photos by the by italian couple Alex and Valentina.
I asked Alex to tell me the story behind this book:
“I came to London with my wife two years ago, strangers in a strange land. We were soon stricken by the turmoil of contradictions just under the productive surface of a city struggling to propose itself once again as a world capital.
As photographers we started using a camera to make sense of our surroundings, exploring city corners, looking for places where the progress comes in a different fashion, with another timetable other then the escalator race during the rush hour. We followed Iain’s advice: go off piste, look for the places they don’t want you to see.
Even if the colonialism in strict terms is over, the city is still colonizing the collective imagination as a sort of El Dorado, people still come to London attracted by its endless opportunities and its “gold-paved-streets”. As for the big drive of the entertainment, the bet is now on the Olympics and their smoke-screen, the O2 big shows, the Royal catwalk.
The photo book Fallen Empire is a subjective map of this city, it traces the invisible correspondences between buildings and men, the places which will disappear during the relentless run for redevelopment, it uncovers modern mythologies, following ley lines of history forever repeating itself.
The city itself is a product of imagination, in the impossibility of grasping its totality, you have to create your own boundaries.
The book is the map we made while getting lost.
It will be released on 5th may in Bristol during a street exhibition for the festival of photography. Also we’ll have another exhibition in Room 212 gallery. If you happen to be in Bristol you’re welcome to join.
We’d like to thank Iain Sinclair and his website for his support.”
