Last year, the Méjan association teamed up with PhotoEspaña to present a retrospective exhibition of Chema Madoz’s work at Les Rencontres d’Arles photography festival. The Spanish photographer’s work took up the entire Magasin électrique section of the former SNCF railway workshops. The staging was perfect and the prints of excellent quality, making this one of the best exhibitions of the 2014 festival. Editions Actes Sud is now publishing “Les règles du jeu” (The Rules of the Game), a collection of 300 images from his most recent work (2008 – 2014) alongside texts by Lourdes Cirlot and Borja Casani. 57-year-old Madoz, who harks from Madrid, enjoys playing with the spectator. He creates scenes in his studio, distorting the meaning of a variety of objects to build a world of illusions. The results are surprising, forming a wonderful blend of poetry and humour.
“Every photograph becomes a duplicate of the object which remains itself while simultaneously becoming another,” Madoz explains.
You can appreciate the rigour in his photographic production and the book emulates his work with clean-cut construction and demanding print requirements. We might regret the choice of cover image which is definitely not one of his most emblematic photographs and might mean an undiscerning eye won’t give the book a second glance. It is true that it is difficult to innovate constantly and his best work might be behind him, but Madoz still manages to surprise by remaining faithful to the themes he values most such as time, music, reading and animals. You are sure to discover something new in the book and it will sit nicely alongside “Angle de réflexion*” on your bookshelf!
*« Angle de réflexion » book published by Actes Sud in 2014. Texts by Duane Michals, Christian Caujolle, Estrella de Diego, Olivia Maria de Rubio and Alberto Anaut.
BOOK
Les règles du jeu (2008-2014)
Chema Madoz
Actes Sud
Issue : October 14th, 2015
300 photographs b&w
23 x 28 cm
34€
ISBN 978-2-330-05456-4
http://www.actes-sud.fr
http://www.chemamadoz.com
