Philip Best - Alien Existence (Infinityland Press)
It would fit into the reassuringly expensive art monograph section of a big bookshop, but the exact size and cover lamination of this weighty book reminded me of vintage 1970s editions of the children's favourite, the Guinness Book Of Records. Opening section 'Come Clean', an extended interview by Martin Bladh, has some autobiographical details and a generally candid, humorous and open tone in response. Yet Bladh's subtly probing and cleverly short questions seem to elicit mild evasions and perhaps somewhat disingenuous answers from Best on occasion.
Second section of text 'Kinsey Dying' is mostly based around a profoundly depressing collage of internet comments sections surrounding the 2009 disappearance and still unsolved death of Neveah Buchanan. Humanity at its worst.
Almost 200 pages of mostly full colour and well printed collages follow, divided into eight chapters. Very similar material to his previous 2010 book for Creation, American Campgrounds. Children, animals, nature, disasters, the increasingly weird and inappropriate artist's signature. He references Ballard as a major influence in the introduction and I can picture a Ballard story where he describes this sort of unwholesome scrapbook, maybe being found at an especially psychotic crime scene. H.R. Giger once created a work called "Ein Fressen für den Psychiater" (a field day for the psychiatrist) and I could certainly imagine this kind of troubling work becoming pathologised just as easily as it could be called art. Amidst the unsettling images sourced from who knows where there is one single photograph (in the section titled Sex Offender Boyfriend) which could be termed 'child erotica'. It is juxtaposed with a page of found text about killing tigers - title, Triumph For The Hunter. Very black humoured indeed.
Outro section of text contains some brief original and cold blooded fiction amidst extremely downbeat collaged and borrowed words - I believe more fiction is on the way next year.
Strange and unique volume, for a limited audience - you'll know if you want this. Production values very high and the publishers should be commended. Feel like I need to take a shower after touching it but that's because of the content.
