Book / Continental Bounce: Magda Biernat (signed)

 In almost exactly one year, Magda and myself traveled to 17 countries on three continents. Attracted to the idea of novelty and change, we made a list of places neither of us has been to before and set off on our world tour with an idea of what we'd see.

The selection of photographs here makes for an unusual travel book in that the majority of the images are of no recognizable location or iconic landmark. When a familiar scene makes an appearance, it has been rightfully de-glorified, set amongst other images that are perhaps more descriptive of the country in which they were taken. Uluru, the Australian monolith, is shown large as (instead of larger than) life. It is visually no more or less important to the story of its country than a gate in the outback, a gate which accesses nothing but an endless stretch of more nothing. 

This book explores the DNA of the countries we visited and was greatly influenced by the way that we like to travel. Meeting local people is important, and persons we met are represented here. Looking in windows is important, as is glancing behind walls and hanging out in empty lots. What does a Maori's garage look like? Has someone posted pictures of Mao on their Hutong to ward off the demolition crew like a cross worn to discourage vampires? What icons of daily life are more important to the natives than the icons that tourists pilgrimage to? The DNA of a country is in the everyday workings of its people, what they've built and where they sleep. The DNA resides in between items on a list.

Signed by Magda Biernat