- polycopies &co
OVERLAPSE
Although we can’t meet together in Paris now, we’re grateful to have the opportunity to connect here and rock the boat with you, virtually, for POLYCOVID 2020! The year has been a struggle both for personal reasons and because our scheduled plans simply disintegrated. As we are all still experiencing, our capabilities for forward planning are ‘stretched’. Being based in the UK we have the added unknown of how Brexit may affect our future plans. Yes, it’s a daunting time, but we’re keen to continue doing what brings us pleasure - making and sharing photobooks.
The events we have witnessed and endured so far in 2020 have only confirmed that visual storytelling is an important and worthwhile endeavour. The three books we present now, so late in the year, are all by American artists and photographers offering quite different insights into life in the most prominent world nation as it wrestles to assert its core identity.
Please note these titles are currently available for pre-order, with further details below. And thank you, sincerely, for continuing to support our projects! x
'A Parallel Road' - Amani Willett
A handbound, multi-layered work exploring the Black experience of driving in America over the past 85 years, A Parallel Road challenges representations of the American ideal of the road trip. This ‘alternative’ history has been sidelined for generations, but living in fear of suffering authoritarian violence while on the road is an everyday reality faced by people of colour. Amani’s new photographs are mixed with family archives, historical images and digital screenshots, combined with the backdrop of the historical Negro Motorist Green Book that Black people depended upon for their survival for 30 years since 1939. It questions how long the road will continue to be a site of oppression for Black people in American society. Small in size but heavy with impact. We expect first copies to arrive mid-November, but possible delays are expected.
For more information:
https://www.overlapse.com/catalog/a-parallel-road/
20% discount during the fair – code: POLYCOVID2020
'You can call me Nana' - Will Harris
A personal yet universal family memoir, this story introduces us to Will’s grandmother, Evelyn, who suffered from dementia in the later years of her life. As her memories eroded, history and fiction collided and a new relationship bloomed; once her grandson, the young photographer became an old friend, creating this work while trying to make sense of a newfound connection and to deal with his own grief. At times both haunting and lighthearted, this book weaves together family archives with altered images, collage, and new photographs including views inside the multi-generational family home in Pennsylvania. Along with some confused and touching conversations with Nana, Will assembles the fragments that went missing from her mind. This title is scheduled to be on press this month (Nov 2020) and will begin shipping in late December / January.
For more information:
https://www.overlapse.com/catalog/you-can-call-me-nana/
20% discount during the fair – code: POLYCOVID2020
'Devil's Promenade' - Antone Dolezal and Lara Shipley
This duo focuses on their home region of the Ozarks in the American Midwest, where locals persist in their search for a legendary floating orb of light that can only be seen from the Devil’s Promenade. It’s a lushly wooded road in an area where wanderers flock to seek possible redemption, or just to escape the boredom and darkness of ordinary rural life. Subtle but revealing portraits are mixed with archives and reinterpretations of mythical, folkloric tales. It’s a nuanced, mysterious and tender representation by photographers returning to the place where they grew up, but also reveals the current, stark realities of a remote place in America. While Antone and Lara currently live at nearly opposite ends of the country (Nevada and Michigan), their point of collaboration meets in the middle. This title is scheduled to be on press this month (Nov 2020) and will begin shipping in late December / January.
For more information:
https://www.overlapse.com/catalog/devils-promenade/
20% discount during the fair – code: POLYCOVID2020
