If you grew up riding BMX in the 90's up into the 2000's odds are you know the name Sandy Carson. He's a legendary photographer, bmxer, musician, and film maker. A true renaissance man. You may remember him as the filmer of the Bicycle Touring Super 8 Blockbuster Masterpiece: California Golde. These photo books are works of art, chocked full truly fantastic photos.
Details:
Pretty Much-
"In his latest body of work, Sandy Carson turns his wry wit to cataloging the year 2020, an uncertain and unprecedented time where the world began navigating the ‘new normal.’
Brilliantly observed and utterly relatable, these photographs (amassed mostly during lockdown in Austin, Texas and entirely during the calendar year) observe and document family relationships, grief, protests, social issues, and everyday street life as Carson left home to exercise and escape for his own sanity by foot or on his bike. Curious pairings evoke the interconnectedness many of us felt.
On the street or just around the corner, a timeless, heartfelt, and absurdist lens joins with Sandy’s hopeful approach to storytelling, inviting the observer to take a deep breath, buckle up and hold on just a bit longer. It’s a gentle reminder that someday, these days will be worth remembering. Pretty much.
Photographs by Sandy Carson
Essay by Chloe Juno
Publisher- Aint-Bad
Linen hardcover, 9x7 inches
108 pages
82 colour photographs
Edition of 300
Weight- 494g"
I've Always Been a Cowboy In My Heart-
"I’ve Always Been a Cowboy in My Heart is Carson’s outsider's observations of the weird happenstances that present themselves on the great American road trip, as seen through the wide eyes of a Scotsman. After relocating from his native homeland of Scotland in the 90's, he has now spent half his life in Texas. This 12-year project chronicles his fascination with everyday occurrences in the social landscape and explores the spaces between clarity and imperfection, composing a personal slice of America.
When put into a photographic context, the aesthetics convey recurring visions of scrutiny, Scottish humor, absurdity and empathy, transforming the most banal scenarios into a nostalgic connection for Carson to his background.
Released September 2019
Photographs by Sandy Carson
Essay by Dr. Katherine Parhar
Cover art by LAND,
Hardcover, 10 x 8 inches
128 pages + pull-out postcard
Edition of 500"
Weight- 753g
Passing Place-
"Passing Place is an intimate portrait of both Sandy Carson’s mother and the ex-mining village he grew up in the West of Scotland after emigrating to America at a young age. This photographic memoir deals with separation, space, and the invisible family bonds that exist despite physical distance incurred by geographical displacement.
The name is inspired by one-lane rural roads with wide spots that are common in Scotland, allowing vehicles to pass each other and continue on their journey.
These photographs and memories made on annual visits home since 2001, are a testimony to Carson’s upbringing and a gentle reminder that absence creates longing and nostalgia across the miles. Carson was drawn to make a record of everyday domestic rituals and routines during the rare times he and his mother spent together, to distill time with her portending passing in 2016.
By uniting his photographs with the ephemera and family photos left behind by his mum, Carson is striving to fill the void by retracing their lives, embracing the formative years they spent together, and absorbing the ones they lost.
Released November 2020
Photographs by Sandy Carson
Introduction by Allan McNaughton
Essays by Daniel Kalder and Stephen McLaren
Hardcover, 9 x 6.5 inches
108 pages
Edition of 350"
Weight- 387g