s Fall / Winter 06 07 - Steidl

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Guido Mocafico
Medusa
Guido Mocafico
Medusa
In Greek mythology, the Medusa sees with such intensity that whatever crosses her gaze becomes petrified... much like
the eye of the photographer armed with a camera. These are a species of photographs beyond the norm – where is the
head? where are the eyes? the sex? – at the border of geometric abstraction, completely unrelated to the rest of the
animal world.
Guido Mocafico is neither a scientist nor a collector of curiosities, but a photographer and lover of art who partakes of
the vocabulary and the colors of nature. He regards jellyfish as the creation of an unparalleled artist. A strange
sensation emanates from his images, which combine a vision of the unknown with a large dose of mystery – and fear, for
these animals secrete a toxic substance that when injected by sting can, in certain cases, cause death. With just the right
amount of distance, Mocafico offers a contemporary view of the demiurge, showing us that we live in a world of illusion.
Of Italian descent, Guido Mocafico was born in Switzerland in 1962. A specialist in still life, he works for international
magazines such as Numéro, Paris Vogue, Vogue US, Vogue Men, Big, The Face, Self-Service, and Wallpaper. He has
also undertaken numerous advertising campaigns for Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Clinique, Shiseido, and Hermès. Over
the past years, Mocafico has been at work on a personal project related to architecture, and he continues to explore
aesthetic and scientific themes in nature. He lives in Paris. In 2005 Steidl published his book Venenum in a limited
edition of 1200 copies.
Edited by Patrick Remy
Essay by Jacqueline Goy
Book design by Thomas Lenthal
64 pages with 20 color plates
9.5 x 14.75 in. / 24 x 37 cm
Clothbound hardcover with dust jacket
US $ 50.00 / £ 28.00 / R 40.00
ISBN 3-86521-253-0
ISBN-13 978-3-86521-253-5
French edition (ISBN 3-86521-070-8) distributed
by Inextenso
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