THE SONGS OF MALDOROR / 2022

The Chance Encounter (a series of 36 photographs) was created for a new edition of Le Comte de Lautréamont’s ‘The Songs of Maldoror’ (1868-1869), published by Infinity Land Press in October 2022. A major work in the canon of literary cruelty, this visionary masterpiece of prose-poetry was rediscovered by the Surrealists in the early 20th century and hailed as a dark progenitor.

In my attempt to capture the visceral character of Lautréamont’s dazzlingly macabre novel, I created six mise-en-scènes composed of carefully sourced objects, handmade sculptures and organic matter in order to evoke the ominous dynamism of Maldoror’s exquisite nightmares and perfidious fantasies.

Publication

The Chance Encounter / selected images

'The Songs of Maldoror' book launch performance

Reading by RJ Dent / backdrop & soundtrack by Karolina Urbaniak

Work in progress

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