Mrs. Merryman’s Collection
Anne Sophie Merryman (Miki Soejima)
MACK
Hardcover
First Edition
112 pages
240 x 270 mm
2012
ISBN 9781907946257
Miki Soejima is a magical realist, an escapologist who is stepping out to claim her identity as the photographer behind Mrs. Merryman’s Collection, winner of the 2012 First Book Award. In the school of great fantasists such as Joan Fontcuberta, Japanese photographer Miki Soejima’s work deals with the artifice at the heart of photography, and the influence of authorship. Her work comprises of a set of postcards which the artist has fabricated, and a fictional story that presents the work as objects collected by Anne-Marie Merryman, and inherited by her granddaughter Anne Sophie Merryman.
‘The whole story is a fiction. I have fabricated a collection of postcards, attributing the imagery to a fictional character, Anne-Marie Merryman. Her granddaughter Anne Sophie Merryman presents the work to the public, as a set of postcards that she inherited in a wooden box. People looking at the postcards might realise they are fake through a set of hints, placed in the postcards themselves; and, at the end of the book, there is a hidden message. I created the postcards using my own photographs, and mixing different materials from postcards that I collected – so the texts on the back of the postcards are real messages in authentic handwriting… I often mix up the messages and the stamps, intentionally.’
About the Artist
Miki Soejima was born in Japan, 1980, and now lives and works in London, UK.
mikisoejima.com
About the Publisher
Mack is an art and photography publishing house based in London, working with established and emerging artists, writers and curators, and cultural institutions – releasing between 20-25 books per year. Established in London in 2010, our founder Michael Mack wanted to create a publishing house that connects new and established authors to a wider audience in beautifully designed editions. Rooted primarily in photography books, our publishing has expanded into art, literature and critical studies, working with some of the world’s most pioneering creative minds and institutions. Over this time, we have sought to build an extensive cultural programme, bringing our authors to audiences across the world in talks, workshops, fairs and signings.
mackbooks.co.uk
