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Sasha Gusov
40, hardback
Hurtwood Press
ISBN 0 9036 9640 1
Arriving in London "drunk on vodka and apprehension", Russian photographer Aleksandr Gusov slept on a vermin-infested mattress with no bedclothes and food supplied by the restaurant where he did the washing up. He spent his first wage packet on a Rolex watch. This kind of behaviour might seem strange to the rest of us, but Sasha - as he prefers to be called - is a man who's actions often defy understanding. Reading the introduction to this, Sasha's first book of his own work, I felt as though I were on some drug-induced trip - only without the sudden sense of clarity.
"Gusov's photographs are lightning fissures, apertures, openings,"writes Andrei Navrozov. "They are neat as bullet marks made in the moving target of time by a master of the craft"- give me a break. Don't get me wrong, the photographs are fantastic: an eclectic mix of shanty towns, auction houses, parade grounds and desert all presented thoughtfully and with maximum impact; but the introduction is incredibly distracting.
Sasha's subjects include a young Jude Law, cigarette drooping from his mouth like James Dean, and Ewan McGregor before Trainspotting fame. These images contrast dramatically with those of the Royal Ballet, but the work pulls together nicely, fused by an undeniable signature style. Skip the first few pages of what is otherwise a fantastic book.
Sasha Gusov
40, hardback
Hurtwood Press
ISBN 0 9036 9640 1
Arriving in London "drunk on vodka and apprehension", Russian photographer Aleksandr Gusov slept on a vermin-infested mattress with no bedclothes and food supplied by the restaurant where he did the washing up. He spent his first wage packet on a Rolex watch. This kind of behaviour might seem strange to the rest of us, but Sasha - as he prefers to be called - is a man who's actions often defy understanding. Reading the introduction to this, Sasha's first book of his own work, I felt as though I were on some drug-induced trip - only without the sudden sense of clarity.
"Gusov's photographs are lightning fissures, apertures, openings,"writes Andrei Navrozov. "They are neat as bullet marks made in the moving target of time by a master of the craft"- give me a break. Don't get me wrong, the photographs are fantastic: an eclectic mix of shanty towns, auction houses, parade grounds and desert all presented thoughtfully and with maximum impact; but the introduction is incredibly distracting.
Sasha's subjects include a young Jude Law, cigarette drooping from his mouth like James Dean, and Ewan McGregor before Trainspotting fame. These images contrast dramatically with those of the Royal Ballet, but the work pulls together nicely, fused by an undeniable signature style. Skip the first few pages of what is otherwise a fantastic book.
Tracy Hallett /B&W/