Troubles de la Vue. Milagros de la Torre.

Troubles de la Vue. Milagros de la Torre (Peru).

Photographs by Milagros de la Torre
Graphic design by Olivier Andreotti & Pénélope Monnet
Text by José Manuel Prieto (in Spanish and French)

Published by Toluca Éditions, Paris, November 2003. First edition, limited to 30 copies.

Milagros de la Torre is a Peruvian artist/photographer whose work is highly conceptual. Trouble de la vue is a luxury book available in a very limited edition. It was published by Paris-based Toluca Éditions, known for their high-end artist publications. For a whole year Milagros de la Torre kept record of various bruises on her body, taking close-up pictures. The result is a set of mysterious and abstract images. Photographs paired with text and connected through innovative design, create a beautiful art object. The text flows in oblong shape forcing to turn it in circles. Cleverly designed pages work perfectly with poetic and sensual prose by a Cuban writer José Manuel Prieto describing the private love of someone whose sight is diminishing. Pas dans l’angoisse de ne pas voir. A contraire, le bonheur de voir, avec une aisance absolu, dans le blanc, la possibilité de construire des images, des blocs se détachant sur le blanc, des volumes de blanc (mais comment? que blocs? que volumes?). La capacité de construire des tableaux pleins de signification (et de sens) sur cette surface blanche, la multitude bigarrée de figurines blanches, de villageois, d’hommes et de femmes, qui devaient etre (si on les regardait bien) indiscernables du fond.

A beautiful sugar pink case, designed by Pierre Charpin, is made up of two plastic shells, holding by magnetic clasps. You can only open it by sliding the shells. Signed prints are set in photo-corners in separate (one spread) booklets. These five booklets and two covers are put together with two rubber bands.

Toluca Éditions inspires collaboration between an artist working in the medium of photography, a writer and a designer, creating unique pieces of art. Trouble de la vue is not strictly a photobook, but it is a perfect example of how far you can push the concept and design in this form. If you have a chance to see this book, don’t miss it.