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The best photo books from last year by Joan Brink « My Lagos » by Robin Hammond. I really enjoy Edition Bessard´s publications…

I really enjoy Edition Bessard´s publications. And I miss the small series with a print, among them there is a kind of preview of Robin Hammonds book My Lagos.
Commuters on their way to work, Marina, Lagos Island, Lagos, Nigeria. 21 May 2014. With an estimated 21 million inhabitants, Lagos is Africa’s biggest city in the continents most populous nation, Nigeria. And its population is increasing faster than almost any other in the world. It also boasts the biggest economy of any city on the continent, if it was a country, its economy would be ranked the 5th biggest in Africa – ahead of Kenya.
Lagos is home to the richest people in the richest country in sub-Saharan Africa (with a GDP of over 500 billion dollars), but the riches have hardly trickled down, it is also one of the most unequal cities in the world (ranked in the top three most unequal for income earned). The huge numbers of poor eking out a living here have reportedly made this the 4th worst place to live in the world. But Lagos is seeing a rapidly rising middle class and this city of enormous contrasts is fast becoming internationally known as Africa’s hub of creativity, fashion and business.
about the Joan Blog: This blog is about things I own, or rather things that I have at home that might be interesting. I work as a copywriter but pictures occupy a large part of my life. As photography hanging on the walls, at museums and galleries and in my ever-growing collection of photography books. And all the pictures I take myself. It´s pictures that I intend to show here, too. Den här bloggen handlar om allt jag äger, eller rättare sagt sådant som jag har hemma som kan vara intressant, på något sätt eller högst personligt. Jag är förvisso copywriter men bilder upptar en stor del av mitt liv. I form av fotografi som hänger på väggarna, som man kan se på museer och gallerier och som finns i min ständigt växande samling av fotoböcker. Och dem jag tar själv. De bilderna tänker jag visa här också. Jag äger ju bilderna. Däremot finns inte motiven kvar i verkligheten.
HERE THE LINK: http://johanbrink.blogspot.jp/2017/01/16-from-16-best-photo-books-from-last.html?view=classic

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Avec My Lagos, de Robin hammond les Editions Bessard frappent une nouvelle fois très fort, et l’on se plaît à désirer rester longtemps encore sur le ring des images d’un livre construit comme un macrocosme. Blog L’intervalle de Fabien Ribery

My Lagos, capitale monstre et populeuse, par le photographe Robin Hammond,
Publié par Fabien Ribery le 19 janvier 2017
Il se pourrait très bien que l’Afrique – trente millions de kilomètres carrés, cinquante-quatre Etats – invente les lignes de notre futur, et nous refaçonne à la mesure de sa démesure.

En 2030, Lagos comptera vingt-cinq millions d’habitants.

Dans la capitale du Nigeria, où les populations affluent, les capitaux des investisseurs jouant aux dés transforment la ville en un gigantesque territoire d’aventures.

Les imaginaires sont écrasés par le calcul, avides d’argent.

Les imaginaires s’ouvrent, participant à la créolisation du monde, que prophétisait à juste titre le philosophe poète Edouard Glissant.

Consumériste, déchirée, souffrant de tachycardie, Lagos est aussi tourbillon, vitalisme, couleurs, mouvement permanent.

Soumise à la souveraineté de la technique, cruelle, dévoreuse de chairs humaines, Lagos est aussi tisseuse de liens, créatrice d’expériences existentielles nouvelles, vérité de rires, rythmes inédits.
The wedding of Funmi Olojede (bride)
Sa puissance est une joie, sa puissance est une peine.
Lagos est un chaudron, volcan touillé par une jeunesse désireuse de sauver sa peau, et de saliver, déglutir, jouir le vaste monde à partir du point d’incandescence qu’est son désir irréductible d’être là, pleinement présente, dans l’hyperconnexion mondialisée à laquelle elle veut participer sans frein.

Pas de nostalgie, mais une humanité se réinventant, identique et différente, adepte d’une autre Raison, moderne, non impérialiste, plurielle, attentive à la vie spirituelle et au tempo propre de chacun, ce qui serait la définition de Lumières africaines.

Pas de passéisme, mais de l’effervescence, du bouillonnement, et des habits d’Arlequin pour fuir dans les apparences.

Le corps sera de grande santé, ou ne sera pas, mobile, fervent, très savant, et joueur-menteur.
’intensification de l’existence poétique au cœur de la catastrophe est aujourd’hui l’enjeu majeur.

Dans le bruit, la musique, le tumulte, Lagos invente un destin, qui ne pourrait ne pas être que local, mais de portée universelle.
C’est ainsi que l’immense photographe néo-zélandais Robin Hammond, dans un livre finement ouvragé édité par les Editions Bessard (format horizontal majestueux, couverture cartonnée unique pour chaque exemplaire, doublée d’un papier plié provenant de posters nollywoodiens, typographie très soignée), représente dans My Lagos une capitale monstre et populeuse, à la fois très noire et multicolore.

Au spectateur égaré dans le labyrinthe de ses images, Robin Hammond offre, dans une série de petits cahiers dépliables, insérés dans un format réduit au mitan des doubles pages de sa fresque africaine, des interviewes en anglais permettant de rencontrer des personnages, dont on se dit qu’il pourrait être des acteurs de ce grouillant Nollywood, où le Nigeria expérimente le mise en scène d’elle-même.

Ville de contrastes considérables, impitoyable et donnant pourtant tout à l’œil habile du photographe sachant la révéler dans ses multiples dimensions, l’indomptable Lagos est ici approchée en cinq chapitres – Building Lagos, Big Religion, Middle Class, Nollywood, Fashion – qui sont autant de portes d’entrées ouvrant sur les autres, car la cité dantesque est aussi celle de tous les enchantements.

Avec My Lagos, les Editions Bessard frappent une nouvelle fois très fort, et l’on se plaît à désirer rester longtemps encore sur le ring des images d’un livre construit comme un macrocosme.

Joseph Conrad terminait Au cœur des ténèbres par le célèbre « L’horreur ! L’horreur ! » – derniers mots prononcés par Kurtz durant son agonie.

Il semble qu’on puisse lui préférer aujourd’hui la formule magique de Nelson Mandela : « Je suis parce que nous sommes. »

My Lagos, ou l’avenir du monde, désirable, inquiétant, incompréhensible, babellique, passionnant, à feu et à sang.

Robin Hammond, My Lagos, design Cyrielle Molard, Editions Bessard, 2016 – livre disponible auprès de l’éditeur

FABIEN RIBÉRY
À propos de l’auteur : L’intervalle, blog littérature, cinéma, photographie, gestes artistiques, sciences humaines, philosophie / Entretiens et chroniques

Fabien Ribery, auteur, enseignant, agrégé de lettres modernes, journaliste free lance HERE THE LINK: https://fabienribery.wordpress.com/2017/01/19/my-lagos-capitale-monstre-et-populeuse-par-le-photographe-robin-hammond/

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The best photo books from last year by Joan Brink “My Lagos” by Robin Hammond. I really enjoy Edition Bessard´s publications…

I really enjoy Edition Bessard´s publications. And I miss the small series with a print, among them there is a kind of preview of Robin Hammonds book My Lagos.

Commuters on their way to work, Marina, Lagos Island, Lagos, Nigeria. 21 May 2014. With an estimated 21 million inhabitants, Lagos is Africa’s biggest city in the continents most populous nation, Nigeria. And its population is increasing faster than almost any other in the world. It also boasts the biggest economy of any city on the continent, if it was a country, its economy would be ranked the 5th biggest in Africa – ahead of Kenya.
Lagos is home to the richest people in the richest country in sub-Saharan Africa (with a GDP of over 500 billion dollars), but the riches have hardly trickled down, it is also one of the most unequal cities in the world (ranked in the top three most unequal for income earned). The huge numbers of poor eking out a living here have reportedly made this the 4th worst place to live in the world. But Lagos is seeing a rapidly rising middle class and this city of enormous contrasts is fast becoming internationally known as Africa’s hub of creativity, fashion and business. Photo Robin Hammond/Panos
Beautifully design, just look at the cover with it´s original Nollywood film poster wrap and all the these amazing shots, vibrant colors. Robin Hammond introduces us to the color, energy and chaos of Africa’s largest city. My Lagos’ opens our eyes to an Africa rarely seen in western media. Placed over and between these views of Lagos is a series of large format Polaroid portraits accompanied by quotes from the sitters themselves. It´s a personal exploration of a vibrant city, and as they say a city of opportunities. The gaps between rich and poor is very clear. But people love their Lagos.

about the Joan Blog: This blog is about things I own, or rather things that I have at home that might be interesting. I work as a copywriter but pictures occupy a large part of my life. As photography hanging on the walls, at museums and galleries and in my ever-growing collection of photography books. And all the pictures I take myself. It´s pictures that I intend to show here, too. Den här bloggen handlar om allt jag äger, eller rättare sagt sådant som jag har hemma som kan vara intressant, på något sätt eller högst personligt. Jag är förvisso copywriter men bilder upptar en stor del av mitt liv. I form av fotografi som hänger på väggarna, som man kan se på museer och gallerier och som finns i min ständigt växande samling av fotoböcker. Och dem jag tar själv. De bilderna tänker jag visa här också. Jag äger ju bilderna. Däremot finns inte motiven kvar i verkligheten.
HERE THE LINK: http://johanbrink.blogspot.jp/2017/01/16-from-16-best-photo-books-from-last.html?view=classic

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‘My Lagos’ by the photographer Robin Hammond, a Limited Edition of 600 copies €75 Each photobook is unique, fold by hand one by one, an original Nollywood film poster wraps this beautifully designed book delivering an authentic piece of the city to the audience. Robin Hammond’s ‘My Lagos’ introduces us to the color, energy and chaos of Africa’s largest city. Full bleed color photographs take us on a journey through bustling Lagos streets and into the homes of the rich, poor, and rising middle class. ‘My Lagos’ opens our eyes to an Africa rarely seen in western media…

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“My Lagos” by Robin Hammond one of the best photobook of the year again… for the November Book Club article, a list of photo-books recommended by Lee & Whitney Kaplan of Arcana Books. hope you enjoy & that it drove some traffic your way!

You can find a link to the post here: https://mag.citizensofhumanity.com/blog/2016/11/22/november-book-club/
My Lagos

Editions Bessard

An original Nollywood film poster wraps this beautifully designed book delivering an authentic piece of the city to the audience.
Lagos defies Western ideas of urban order. However, what looks like anarchic activity is actually governed by a set of informal yet ironclad rules. To a new comer to the city, these rules are an absolute mystery but in the shouting, and blaring of horns, and the pushing and shoving of crowds, everyone has a place to go and a way to get there.

Robin Hammond’s ‘My Lagos’ introduces us to the color, energy and chaos of Africa’s largest city. Full bleed color photographs take us on a journey through bustling Lagos streets and into the homes of the rich, poor, and rising middle class. ‘My Lagos’ opens our eyes to an Africa rarely seen in western media.

Placed over and between these views of Lagos is a series of large format Polaroid portraits accompanied by quotes from the sitters themselves. A businessman, an actor, a fisherman, a pastor, a prostitute speak of their hopes and dreams in this city of strivers.

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Robin Hammond, “My lagos” One of the best PhotoBook of the year 2016…

I have been an outsider most of my life. As an immigrant or photographer in the countries where I have lived and worked, I have not truly belonged. I’ve been a foreigner for so long that I don’t really know anything else. It has become part of who I am.
In our industry, some argue, convincingly, that the most authentic stories come from people who live in the communities being documented. But that closeness can also blind a storyteller to a place’s unique characteristics. And cultural rules, which don’t always apply to an outsider, occasionally limit what can be photographed. Counterintuitively, access and seeing can be easier when you don’t belong.
In Africa’s biggest city, Lagos, I was often reminded of my foreignness. While I was welcomed as a friend many times — because that is the way guests are usually treated across Africa — I was also regarded with suspicion and aggression, because people of my skin color do not have a flattering history in these parts. Just as many doors were opened to me because I was not from there as doors were closed in my face because of what my skin color represented.

Intimacy and exclusion, love and hate, laughter and insult regularly rub shoulders on Lagos’s streets. It’s a complex place.

I was trying to grasp, through my camera, life in this massive metropolitan area of more than 20 million people. As an outsider, I needed help. My Lagosian fixer and constant companion, Yinka (who did not want his full name used), drove me through the streets and translated languages. More valuably, he guided me through the maze of a seemingly impenetrable place, unraveling the rules governing this megacity, which to an outsider just looks like chaos.

Located in West Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, Lagos is as much an experience as a place. The local experience and the foreign experience are certainly not the same. But that difference is not the only meaningful one. The city’s residents experience it differently: the businessman and the fisherman, the prostitute and the entrepreneur, the housewife and the bricklayer. There are more than 20 million Lagosians, and, one could say, just as many Lagoses.

It is a fascinating city, but one where life can be hard. One survey placed it as the fourth worst place in the world to call home, and another ranked it as one of the world’s most unequal cities. Yinka often remarked: “Lagos, ain’t no small t’ing,” meaning, life is not easy there. But many of the people I met also expressed how they saw Lagos as a place where dreams come true, where hard work pays off and where, with a few good connections and smarts, one can rise from the streets and into the mansions of the city’s big men.

My new book, published by Editions Bessard, is called “My Lagos,” but only partly because it is my view of the city. It comes mostly from the interviews I conducted with the subjects of my portraits. I asked them to describe what Lagos meant to them, and they would answer, “My Lagos is. …”

Their quotations in the book and their portraits connect us, in a small way, to a people most readers will never meet, and through them we experience a piece of a place most will never visit.
Photography, for me, is about connections. The design of this book is too. The vertical, large-format Polaroid portraits rest atop of and half-cover the wider horizontal photo reportage below, until the portrait is turned to reveal the entire picture underneath. The two images are separated stylistically, by the border of the Polaroid surrounding the portrait, a page fold, even different paper stock. But they are part of each other too, joined in a narrative created when the two are placed together.

Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, is huge on the continent, no more so than in Lagos itself. I collected Nollywood film posters as I roamed the city. The posters are cheaply produced, the postproduction often amateurish. But there is a raw, unpretentious beauty in their gaudiness, much like the films themselves. The posters become dust jackets of the book, folding around it to form a colorful introduction to the people and city of Lagos. Each book is unique in this way, and the reader gets to take home his or her own piece of Lagos. The printers we used couldn’t understand why we would want to use all these different, poorly produced posters. They wanted to print them themselves, not understanding that the authenticity and uniqueness of each poster was exactly what gave them their charm.
This book is a journey, a search for a series of pictures that capture Lagos. But it is just one view influenced by many: the Lagos I stumbled across, the Lagos Yinka introduced me to, and the Lagos described by the people in the portraits. There are infinite ways to see and experience this city, of course, so don’t get this book expecting to know Lagos by paging through it. There is no real, true knowing of a place like this. Expect, instead, the Lagos one photographer came to know and love. And what did I find? In the ugly, I found beauty; in the chaos, form; and in the voices of the people I met, I found my Lagos.”

Robin Hammond

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Happy to be a contributor to this extensive ‘best photo-books ever’ list of lists – Source magazine (Ireland). And happy to see our books selected by Michaela Bosakova Head of the Photon Gallery Vienna / Project coordinator for the Central European House of Photography in Bratislava, Austria Top list: Robin Hammond, My Lagos, 2016. Nice documentary work, strong images, even though once again a classical approach, it has a well built story. Take a look: http://www.source.ie/photobook/poll_results_A.html Éditions Bessard