Karma

Karma, a photobook by Spanish photographer Óscar Monzón. It compiles a series of works photographed in Madrid from 2009 to 2013, highlighting the boundary between private and public space in modern cities through the relationship between "cars and people."

The enclosed space of the automobile is viewed as an "extension of the body" detached from the outside world. Through bold flash photography, the defenseless expressions and tension of people inside the car are exposed. The anonymity, aggression, anxiety, and desires lurking within the space separated by a single sheet of steel and glass are depicted with intense colors and fragmented framing.

While seemingly a graphic and stimulating visual book, it is underpinned by sharp insights into surveillance society, privacy, and human behavior. With a perspective reminiscent of Martin Parr and Michael Wolf, yet with a more visceral and provocative approach, this collection of works illuminates the human condition in the modern city.

In 2013, it won the "First PhotoBook Award" at the Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards.

●2013 First PhotoBook Award Winner

[Title] Karma (Destiny, karmic retribution)
[Publisher] RVB Books
[Publication Date] 2014 Second edition
[Number of Pages] 128 pages
[Size] Approx. 210*300mm
[Format] Softcover
[Language] English
[Title Reading] Karma
[Author/Editor, etc.] Óscar Monzón/Author
[Printing] -
[ISBN] 9791090306257
[Condition] Used 【7】Good (Slight scuffing on cover, slight damage to corners)
[Accessories] None
[Featured In] -
[Related Exhibitions] -

Óscar Monzón (Óscar Monzón) 1981-

Born in Malaga, Spain, in 1981. Photographer.
Currently based in Madrid. One of the founding members of the photography collective "Blank Paper."

He is interested in unconscious human behavior in urban spaces and the boundary between public and private spaces, developing photographic expressions with intense flash and bold framing. In his representative work Karma, he depicts the anonymity and violence of modern society through the enclosed space of the automobile, winning the "First PhotoBook Award" at the "Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards" in 2013.
In 2021, "Order" (RVB BOOKS) was published.

His works, which keenly capture the physical sensations and psychology of people living in modern cities, spanning photography, sociological perspectives, and book design, have earned him international recognition.

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