The new whiz-kid of British documentary, Stephen Gill, has turned to publishing his own books. And what a treat he has produced in Hackney Flowers, my favourite photography book of the year. Hackney doesn’t sound the most promising territory for a photography project, but this is Gill’s fourth book on his neighbourhood area. He has collected various discarded photos found in the local flea market and combined these with some of his own images interspersed with ones of pressed flowers and berries, also derived from Hackney. The combination of these elements is most surreal. I particularly loved a picture of a tip truck superimposed with flower petals falling out of the truck like debris: the combination is so simple and effective that it sings off the page. Gill has the uncanny knack of finding juxtapositions that defy belief. This may be hard to find – it’s a limited edition – but it can be admired and ordered from www.stephengill.co.uk

HACKNEY FLOWERS by Stephen Gill
Nobody/Archive of Modern Conflict £30

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