The black and white photographs on each page of this little book are wonderful evocations of the absent and the indistinct. A strangely angled highrise emerges from the night, a few clusters of light off to one side; a row of diner booths, the people in them fading back into the obscurity at the deep end of the photo; blurred faces; parts of faces. Each photo is framed by heavy black lines, and it’s these lines that give the pictures their peculiar definition. In each case, the frame robs the picture of context, leaving behind a poignant sense of loss and mystery. The most dramatic presentation is a centrefold shot of a hazy sky with a barely visible sun and buildings popping up from the frame at the bottom. Except for this centrefold, each of the photos in MFB is surrounded by sentences penned by Lance Blomgren. Don’t waste your time reading these sentences. As a matter of fact, take a couple of sheets of blank white paper and cover up all the words each time you turn the page so you can appreciate these lovely photos without the distraction of Blomgren’s pseudo-literary power-of-positive-thinking drivel.
chapbook / 15 pages / Publisher: ITP / Main Creators: Yvette Poorter, Lance Blomgren / $5 / 383 rue Edouard-Charles, Apt. 2, Montreal, PQ, H2V 2N1