“It took a while to find the right form for this work. I wanted something that would echo my encounter with a city as well as with a new person, the intimacy of the photoshoot and the meandering through Madrid’s streets and art galleries. I tried several options until everything came together in the accordion folded book, which is also known as a leporello. Leporello is the name of Don Giovanni’s manservant. When his master asks for a catalogue of his lovers, the list is so long it falls open like a concertina unravelling. Up until the 1950s, it was common to see postcards bound in an accordion fold to reveal glimpses of the city.
‘You bring stuff related to your daily rituals: toothpaste, toothbrush, razor, lube, cereal, a yoga mat, a book, and fresh, warm empanadas for us to share.’
‘Our walk to Park Retiro is cut off by a swarm of cyclists. A woman at the railings tells us it’s like the Spanish Tour de France. We cross at the Sevilla Metro underpass, but there’s still no way to get to the park. By then we’re at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Gallery so we go inside to see the Caravaggios.’ [extracts from Luke (Madrid).]
Luke (Madrid) is the fourth in the One-a-Month photobook challenge I set myself in October 2016. - Michael Wynne
