Crimean Snobbism [2006]

Crimean Snobbism by Boris Mikhailov [2006]

Fine/As-New.
Hardcover in Dustjacket;
Rat Hole Gallery
2 pounds; 7¼x10"
B001TTND0U

What might appear at first glance as a vacationer's slideshow quickly reveals itself as a multi-layered monograph, serving as both personal amusement and social indictment. Boris Mikhailov's photographs of a day at the beach with friends gently push and break the boundaries of what he sees as defining societal norms. They frolic and strike airy poses, imitating their self-conscious fellow bathers on this Crimean beach in the Soviet Union, under which Mikhailov suffered oppression as an artist. As they push harder against that very self-consciousness and against the traditions of the past, they begin to blur the intersection of public and private, exposing their bodies in an exhilarating rush of freedom.