Robin Maddock -III

1st edition published by Trolley Books, 2014
Format: Hardback, 170x245mm
Pages:
Condition: Very Good/Fine

The third book by British photographer Robin Maddock, entitled III, incorporates three subjects, shot in three cities in the United States. Shot entirely in black and white, the three monochrome subjects take centre stage; a solitary floating sheet of paper, spilt milk, and a ping-pong ball, dropped casually onto sun-bathed sidewalks. III is part homage to 20th Century American photography, part response to a country already saturated in documentary images, and a visual history well known to us from the ether of both high and low culture. So, these 64 photographs, a pictorial riddle of small interventions, are an attempt to leave this tradition in some small way. Previously known for his colour documentary photography in Britain, III might seem an unusual departure for Maddock. Yet this book is a continuation of his solitary walking, and search for simple, quotidian illuminations. III reflects a new freedom from a responsibility to represent social specifics. We are invited to see the three elements of traditional reportage; time, subject and also place, in playful, vertiginous free fall.

Artist Bio

So, Maddock is best known for his personal approach to documentary photography. He looks at different places and then the states of mind of the people that inhabit them. His first two photography books were portraits of England. 'Our kids Are Going to Hell' (2009) is a reflection of the social interaction of youth and the police in Hackney, London. Also that year, Maddock made the prestigious Victoria and Albert museum annual review, which was a 6 month commission. His second title, ‘God Forgotten Face’ in 2011 continued his work on aspects of everyday English society in the South Western town of Plymouth. Martin Parr selected this work as his choice in the Smithsonian magazine’s edition “The new stars of photography” in February 2012. More recently, 2014, has seen his third book entitled ‘III’ published. It is a more playful black and white look at the streets of America.