A SERIES OF DISAPPOINTMENTS by Stephen Gill

イギリス人フォトグラファー、スティーブン・ギル(Stephen Gillの作品集。このシリーズにおける被写体は、ロンドン北東のハックニー地区にある場外馬券場に捨てられていたさまざまな馬券。この地区に場外馬券場は71店(当時)あり、それはロンドンの他地区の平均である23店をはるかに超えている。これらの紙片は、購入時は希望であったがそれが喪失や敗北となり、最後には投げ捨てられた。握り締められ、破られてできたその新しいフォルムは、おそらく苛立ちや不満から来るその時の気持ちを生々しく表しているのだろう。叶わなかった賭けが、紙の上でくり広げるパフォーマンスをとらえた。カバーから印刷頁をはずし、展示可能な仕様(印刷頁に釘やフック用の穴付き)を取り入れたユニークなブックデザインとなっている。

The betting slips illustrated in Stephen Gill's A Series of Disappointments were discarded in Hackney in north-east London, in and around the many betting shops in the borough – 71 at the time of the book's publication. Betting shops are classed as financial services, so if they move into premises previously occupied by banks or solicitors they don't have to apply for any special permit. The average number of betting shops in other London boroughs is 23. Each of these papers began as hope and was shaped by loss and defeat, then cast aside. Their residual forms reveal a state of mind framed by nervous tension and grief. After the images were made, little autopsies were performed on the papers to reveal the failed bets held within. The book is published in three different cover designs based on jockeys' racing colours. It can be exhibited by removing the book block from the outer cover, expanding the pages and hanging the resulting chain of paper from nails or small hooks using the holes provided.

by Stephen Gill

REGULAR PRICE ¥4,752  (tax incl.)

hardcover
78 pages
232 x 300 mm
black and white
limited edition of 3,000 copies
2008

published by AMC (ARCHIVE OF MODERN CONFLICT)