MISSBEHAVE by Simona Rota

MISSBEHAVE. Simona Rota.

The book MISSBEHAVE assemblages two series of photographer and artist Simona Rota. One of these works, ‘Big Exit’, shows a series of performative actions that take place in scenarios and situations constructed to be photographed. The other work, the ‘Ostalgia’ series is a subjective survey of monumental buildings that seem to testify to a past of heroic intentions, arriving though at present with eroded optimism and disappointment.

The assemblage of these two works into a single book raises an inevitable confrontation between seemingly divergent conditions: personal vs. collective, domestic interior vs. monumental public space, inhabited vs. abandoned, agoraphobia vs. claustrophobia, fiction vs. documentation, etc. However, with just a mere glance into Rota’s photographs and texts, one may feel the beat of identical concerns. In the author's words, "The characters of the fiction Big Exit are the utopian rebellion against what the characters, which do not exist, represent in Ostalgia".

The edition of Missbehave, carried out by Paula Alvarez, mainly subtended in Rota’s image and works, will include the voice of an invited writer. Alongside these contents the edition will seek a layer of special significance: will extract from the many complex issues addressed by Rota’s work, that line of research linking creativity and politics. This link is not a coincidence, being Rota a MA in Political Sciences, a writer, photographer and nomad. The idea or point of view that this edition aims to cultivate is that Rota’s knowledge is a "situated knowledge", in which capacity and performance overlap, making out of photography a form of empowerment.

The edition of the book is seeking financial support in BOOK-A, a crowd-funding platform devoted to books on art and architecture and promoted by Vibok Works. By reserving a copy of the book you become its supporter. Find out more about the contents, the edition and the co-financing process by clicking here.