Rafał Milach - The Winners [Mint condition] - 2014

Edition of 500 copies
165 x 222mm
112 pages with 53 hand ‘tipped-in’ images
Hardback red faux leather cover with debossed text

Now out of print and rare, 'The Winners' is Rafał Milach’s quietly unsettling examination of state‑sanctioned celebration in Belarus, documenting prize‑winners from local competitions with a detached, systematic gaze—an influential photobook that has become a key reference for collectors of politically engaged documentary photography.


ABOUT THE BOOK:
The Winners forms a central chapter in Rafał Milach’s long‑term examination of propaganda and power structures in post‑Soviet Eastern Europe. Focusing on Belarus, the project documents recipients of state‑sponsored awards and competitions, ranging from agricultural productivity and workplace efficiency to beauty contests and civic pride initiatives.

Photographed between 2010 and 2013, the images deliberately adopt an amateur visual language: over‑exposed colour photographs, awkward framing, and makeshift studio backdrops. Subjects are presented as quietly anonymous, their ordinariness underscoring the mechanisms through which official recognition functions as a tool of ideological reinforcement. Each image is hand tipped‑in, a structural device that reveals captions beneath the photographs, transforming seemingly banal scenes into a layered commentary on authorship, control, and narrative construction.

Published by GOST Books in a limited first edition of 500 copies, the book was produced with support from the Magnum Foundation and Sputnik Photos. Since publication, 'The Winners' has been widely recognised as a landmark photobook of the 2010s and a key work within Milach’s practice.


ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER:
Rafał Milach (b. 1977) is a Polish visual artist and photographer whose work critically examines power, ideology, and everyday life in post‑Soviet Eastern Europe. A co‑founder of the Sputnik Photos collective, Milach is best known for his conceptually rigorous photobook projects, including 'The Winners' and '7 Rooms'. His work has received international recognition, including awards from World Press Photo and Pictures of the Year International, and has been exhibited at institutions such as Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, and C/O Berlin. Milach’s works are held in major museum and institutional collections worldwide.


ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:
GOST Books, founded in London in 2012, is an independent publisher dedicated to contemporary photography and visual culture. Known for its rigorous editorial approach and refined book production, GOST has published numerous critically acclaimed and award‑winning photobooks, often developed in close collaboration with artists. The press has played a significant role in shaping the landscape of 21st‑century photobook publishing, with titles frequently recognised by major institutions, critics, and international awards.