#109 CAMERA Book Review: Peter Dench - A & E: Alcohol and England
A wander through a fun-packed Alcohol & England by photographer Peter Dench.
Pickled. Soused. Mullered. Blotto. Hog-whimpering. Pie-eyed. Tired and emotional; downwind of a few. The presence of so many words and phrases in the English language to describe a state of inebriation surely says something about the English themselves: this is a nation that seeks the comfort of oblivion - towards the bottom of a bottle. But why do the English tipple until they fall over? Is it simply the weather, so wearyingly unpredictable? Is it to overcome the awkwardness inherent in a half-denied class system? Is it just because the English are more culturally advanced, and have realized there is no cure for the human condition but nice-tasting painkillers? All these possibilities are explored in Peter Dench’s witty, challenging, sometimes dazzling, sometimes affecting photo-diary of Anglo-Celtic drunkenness.
The result is a unique and compelling visual history, full of photography that bears a striking resemblance to the drinking it depicts: at best it is perfectly intoxicating. Peter Dench is a photographer represented globally by Reportage by Getty Images; he works extensively in the advertising, video, and editorial fields of image-making.
In 2010, Dench was placed 2nd in Advertising at the Sony World Photography Awards. He has had a number of exhibitions including England Uncensored at the Visa pour l’Image festival of photojournalism in France and the Periscopio festival in Spain; a book of the same name was a 2012 Pictures of the Year International best photography book award finalist. Dench has also received a World Press Photo award in the ‘People in the News Stories’ category and participated in the World Press Joop Swart Master Class. Football’s Hidden Story, a FIFA-sponsored reportage documenting 26 stories across 20 countries, received a number of global accolades.
Hardcover: 156 pages
Publisher: The Bluecoat Press (23 Oct. 2014)
Product Dimensions: 29 x 1.8 x 27 cm
Peter Dench
Bluecoat Press
Camera is on
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