Boris Mikhailov - Yesteday's Sandwich II - 2019

*Yesterday's Sandwich II* expands one of Boris Mikhailov's most groundbreaking photographic investigations, presenting a remarkable selection of works from the celebrated series created between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s. Published by Super Labo in 2019, the volume introduces ninety previously unpublished double-exposure compositions that did not appear in the original *Yesterday's Sandwich*, offering a richer and more comprehensive insight into one of the most innovative bodies of work in post-war photography. Produced in a limited edition of 1,000 copies, the book further reinforces the lasting significance of this extraordinary project.

The origins of the series are both accidental and revolutionary. While working with colour slides, Mikhailov discovered that layering two transparencies created an entirely new image. Rather than treating this as a technical flaw, he embraced the phenomenon as a creative tool. By combining photographs taken at different times and places, he produced complex visual compositions in which separate realities merge into a single frame. Long before digital image manipulation became commonplace, Mikhailov was creating sophisticated multi-layered photographs entirely through analogue processes, transforming a simple photographic experiment into a radical artistic language.

Throughout *Yesterday's Sandwich II*, urban landscapes, anonymous figures, industrial architecture, quiet interiors and everyday Soviet life are overlaid with portraits, nudes, fragments of nature and intimate personal moments. These juxtapositions never feel random. Every combination generates new meanings, encouraging the viewer to question how photographs construct reality and how memory itself is built through fragments, associations and overlapping experiences. The resulting images exist somewhere between documentary, dream and metaphor, resisting any single interpretation.

Rather than offering direct political commentary, Mikhailov reveals the contradictions of Soviet society through visual ambiguity. Public spaces collide with private desire, rigid architecture dissolves into sensuality, and ordinary moments become charged with psychological tension. The photographs suggest that beneath the surface of ideological order existed a parallel world of individual emotion, imagination and freedom. By refusing literal representation, Mikhailov creates images that speak not only about life in the Soviet Union but also about the complexity of human perception itself.

One of the most compelling aspects of the work is its remarkable sense of timelessness. Although rooted in a specific historical and political context, the photographs continue to feel strikingly contemporary. Their layered construction anticipates today's digitally manipulated imagery while remaining entirely handmade. Every double exposure reflects an extraordinary understanding of colour, composition and visual rhythm, demonstrating Mikhailov's ability to transform technical experimentation into emotional and conceptual depth.

The sequencing of the book is equally sophisticated. Rather than functioning as isolated works, the photographs engage in a continuous dialogue, with recurring shapes, colours and themes creating unexpected connections across the pages. This careful pacing encourages slow viewing, allowing each composition to reveal new relationships and subtle details over time. Like memory itself, the narrative unfolds through accumulation rather than chronology, inviting multiple readings with every return to the book.

Super Labo's edition reflects the Japanese publisher's exceptional reputation for craftsmanship. The printing faithfully reproduces the richness of the original colour transparencies, preserving the delicate balance between the overlapping layers and allowing every nuance of Mikhailov's visual experiments to emerge with remarkable clarity. The restrained design places complete emphasis on the photographs, reinforcing the immersive experience of the book.

More than fifty years after many of these images were created, *Yesterday's Sandwich II* remains one of the most inventive explorations of analogue photography ever published. It demonstrates that photographic innovation does not depend on technology alone but on the ability to rethink the medium itself. Through layered realities, unexpected visual dialogues and poetic ambiguity, Boris Mikhailov transforms photography into a meditation on memory, identity, desire and the fragile boundaries between fact and imagination.

*Yesterday's Sandwich II* is far more than a companion volume to the original publication. It is an essential extension of one of the defining projects of Boris Mikhailov's career and a landmark Photography Book that continues to challenge conventional ideas about documentary practice and photographic truth. Rich in visual invention and conceptual depth, it stands as one of the most important Photobooks for anyone interested in the evolution of experimental photography and the enduring legacy of one of Ukraine's greatest artists.