Customer Reviews

Convicts 2009

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German photographer KINGDOME 19 has a unique approach to photography. In the words of the artist 'I work in the traditional way, that means having a film for 36 pictures, which need to be developed in the lab first. I also have negatives, which I develop myself in my private lab on photographic paper. This way is how I create unique pieces, of which there is only one copy. After that, the frames and scripts are included - only by hand. When everything is ready I can go to the lab and combine all the elements together. This is a really time-consuming job. The scratches and all the antique-effects develop from the countless sheets and double and triple exposures. To have a personal style is very important to me.' The resultant photographs are so unique that they cannot be duplicated as editions: he even mixes the sepia toners himself from an old recipe and that alone precludes repetition. The images he completes, in addition to the model carefully chosen for look and ability to create an atmosphere, contains writing superimposed on the work, sgraffito, faded borders, light enhancement, and superimposed imagery that gives the sense of a fine etching or lithograph.

This particular monograph concentrates on incarcerated men; 'This topic provides me with the necessary freedom to include emotions and fantasy in the pictures. After my first coffee-table book dealing with prisons, ARRESTED, I received lots of letters and requests. To find out that such a topic was of interest for the public in general was a great surprise to me. Many men could picture their fantasies about detainees and what happens behind bars. Also in CONVICTS you can find models that were in jail for real. The story of their lives is fascinating and frightening at the same time. "Felix", the model on the front cover, hanged himself in his cell short before the release of ARRESTED. That was a big shock to me. We had been working together for many years and we knew each other really well. I wanted to break up with this topic, but there were too many fans and collectors who wanted to see a continuation.'

This then is a book of images that are tough, harsh, and threatening, but at the same time, in the hands of KINGDOME 19, the eyes and stances and configuration of the models convey that 'prison' is only a temporary part of their lives and as the artist states 'Nothing in life is coincidence'. Grady Harp, December 19

This is a book that I look through again and again ... the boys and the photo s are so HOT ... if you collect books like this be sure to get this one