BUS-SPOTTING + A STORY 

BUS-SPOTTING + A STORY is a 4-part photo-essay.
Parts 1 and 2 (Bus Ride) comprise a sequence of 32 photographs in the form of twin books, split in images of double and single-decker buses. Far from being static, the collaged sequence suggests a bus ride through past time and spaces. The momentum stems from the varying points of view the constantly changing street scenes, as well as from the way complete and partial images alternate and run on from page to page, leading the reader’s eye back and forth.
Part 3 (A Story) engages with the narrative and fictional potential of found photographs –  a different approach to the material – using  text and image with reference to the genre of photo-romance.
Part 4 (Transport Enthusiasts) elucidates the raison d’être of the overall work, as well as the context in which the photographs were taken, through correspondence with one of the original photographers; additional material such as the reproduction of the copyright stamps at the back of the prints, as well as a letter dated 1971 between a photographer and a collector further highlight the tangible nature of the collection.

Handbound artist’s book with four  volumes in a slipcase, pamphlet binding with sequential structure
4 separate books (B&W, duotone and colour)
108 pages
21 x 30 cm (Parts 1, 2 ,4) and 14.8 x 21 (Part 3)
Laser printed on Fabriano 120gsm and 200gsm (slipcase)
Edited and designed by paula roush
Text by Mireille Ribière, with Colin Stannard
Photographs from the Found Photo Foundation by Colin Stannard, Douglas F. Parker, G. Mead, J. G. S. Smith, Phil Picken, Robert F. Mack, T.E.S., T. L. Jones, and unknown photographers.
edition of 250, numbered and signed, released 2016
msdm publications
£80 (free p&p)

BUS-SPOTTING + A STORY

BUS-SPOTTING + A STORY marks the launch of the Found Photo Foundation’s Orphan Series. Each work in the series explores a particular approach to publishing the printed material in the Found Photo Foundation collection. Orphan #1 BUS-SPOTTING + A STORY is the result of the collaboration with Mireille Ribière, author, photographer and scholar.

Further reading:

Jan Baetens
A Book, An Endless Love Affair
Cultural Studies Leuven, 10 August 2016

Erica Carter
Comments on BUS-SPOTTING + A STORY  presentation
at the launch of Order and Collapse: The lives of Archives
Personal email,  April 2016

Selected for:

The Photo-text Award at Arles Les Rencontres de la Photographie, July 4- Sept 25, 2016
THE PHOTO-TEXT Award, supported by the Jan Michalski foundation for writing and literature, rewards the best work mixing images and texts, whether through the interweaving of text in the image, the preponderant place of writing within the dummy book or a writer's text that supports the photographic intention.

KALEID 2016 Oslo exhibition
at the KHiO Bibliotek curated by Victoria Browne, National Academy of the Arts Library, May 2016

"Rigorosamente Libri" IV Biennale del Libro d’Artisti
“Strictly Books...”  IV Biennial of The Artist’s Book
Selected by Maddalena Carnaghi and curated by Vito Capone & Gaetano Cristino 
Fondazione de Monte Uniti di Foggia 
June 1- July 15 2019