Erwin Olaf - Joy - 1993

Joy is a photobook by Erwin Olaf, in which a series of carefully styled, often theatrical black-and-white and color photographs is presented. The book gathers several series from the period 1984–1993, including Squares, Girls, Blacks, Chessmen, Bodyparts and various commissioned works. Olaf is known for his cinematographic approach, in which composition, sets, costumes and body language play a central role.

The images in Joy show a mix of humor, absurdity, glamour and raw energy, often with an undercurrent of performance and subculture. The book provides a broad overview of Olaf’s early oeuvre and shows how his visual language developed toward the iconic style for which he would later become internationally known. The presentation is sleek, graphic and designed as an art object, with emphasis on image quality and sequencing.

Good copy with on the back of (only) the cover a discoloration and a minimal dent.