Wonderland: A Fairy Tale of the Soviet Monolith
Wonderland: A Fairy Tale of the Soviet Monolith
WONDERLAND: A FAIRY TALE OF THE SOVIET MONOLITH, 2nd Edition*
Winner Best Photography Book 2008/ POYi
by Jason Eskenazi
Open spine binding
176 pages
77 Black & White Tritone photographs
14.5 x 21 cm, 0.53 kg / 1.17 lbs
Printed at Mas Matbaa/Istanbul, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-9841954-1-1
*also available as a special edition with an 8x10 in. silver gelatin print, choice of two prints, $250.
The Black Garden Trilogy (Wonderland/Black Garden/Departure Lounge) is complete with the printing and publication of the 2nd edition of Wonderland: A Fairy Tale of the Soviet Monolith. This is a new edition, not a facsimile. This edition is bigger than the original book to match Departure Lounge. The edit and sequence are the same as the original version.
The story of Communism is the story of the twentieth century. For many the Soviet Union existed, like their childhood, as a fairy tale where many of the realities of life were hidden from plain view. When the Berlin Wall finally fell, so too did the illusion of that utopia. Wonderland is a photographic exploration that portrays both the reality beneath the veneer of a utopian USSR and the affirmation of hope that should never be abandoned. And like all fairy tales try to teach us: the hard lessons of self-reliance.
Black Garden Trilogy Notes: Though the trilogy was constructed step by step, added on book by book, there is a cohesive structure by using consecutive chapters 1-9, and consecutive plate numbers 1-314, throughout the three books. The three books span the time frame of almost 30 years, basically the time frame of Eskenazi's photographic journeys, from when he made his first foray into the world landing in Moscow in 1991-2001, until living in Istanbul in 2010-2018. By the end of the trilogy one will see some similar images from the same contact sheets from previous books giving the impression that only a moment has passed during the last 30 years represented in these three volumes. Both Wonderland and Departure Lounge were sized to exactly fit into the parameters of Black Garden. Eskenazi says he was influenced by the religious triptychs he encountered while guarding European paintings at the museum.
*For trade discount, contact sales@redhookeditions.com
WONDERLAND, SPECIAL EDITION WITH 8X10 IN. SILVER GELATIN PRINT*, SIGNED AND NUMBERED BY THE AUTHOR
*choice of two prints available