![]() And in a quest to hold on to the image, the city itself often falls mundane. These are both deceptive cities, the imagery they have created for themselves often surpasses the value of what is real. This is where you start seeing an intoxicated traveler, where his imagination seems to seep into his memories.Īnd then he goes on to talk about cities of eyes and cities of names. ![]() The city thrives because it caters to the raw curiosity of man.Īs the book propagates, the reader finds Marco Polo’s cities becoming more and more unbelievable, drowning into utopian fantasies, or fairytale cities that contradict the basic sciences. While thin cities are ones with limitations hidden in them- these are cities of a thin fabric, no structures marvelous enough, or architecture profound enough to give it depth.Īnd monotonous functional cities with bazaars for trading goods- the trading cities, but the travelers keep returning to these cities, not because of the trade of goods, but because of the exchange of memories and stories of valor of battles, of lovers, of beasts unheard of. Often in these signs, however, the city becomes redundant, repeating them for the sake of its own existence. Despinasource-Cities and signs talk about cities that communicate to you, but in codes that are left to be decoded, and that is the beauty of them. But to a visitor from the sea, Despina looks like a camel’s withers and he fantasizes about the luscious oasis, wine, and exotic women. Despina- a coastal city, which while perceived by a traveler upon a camel approaching her from the desert, looks similar to a vessel at the shore, and the traveler imagines all the foreign and exotic goods that he would see. Or it is associated with the deceptiveness of a city that fools her guests into believing that she offers just what they long for. Zora source-In cities and desire- the desire is associated with fertile land, nourishing moats and canals, clear skies, and rare gems and goods the traveler seeks here. But in this desire to be easily remembered, Zora has lost herself to the ordinary. ![]() Or the city of Zora, which is easy to memorize, point to point, because of how well-arranged each of its elements is. Like the city of Zaira, where the tangible parts of the city are not what resonates in you while you leave it it’s rather the incidents that have taken place in the city or the agony of the people that seem to haunt the city like a thin fog. And these could be pleasant or sad and suffocating. In cities and memory– memories stick to them like paint to its walls. ![]() ![]() The cities- tempting, seductive, joyous, deceptive…Polo made them sound like different women indeed, and he segregated them into types. Mediated by the rhythm of editing and sequencing, the fragments gradually weaved out a vague and open narrative.Italo Calvino ©Travelers and storytellers from corners of the world recited their experiences to the great khan but Marco Polo was his favorite for the reason that while all others talked about wars and famines and priceless mines, polo took him through a whole extensive journey of these cities, while they both sat at the doorsteps of the palace, enjoying the evening breeze. These elements sometimes mingle intensively, while other times, structured relatively loosely. The fragments from three works that created at different times and backgrounds are carefully intertwined with the materials I collected in Kraków during the 10 days. The appropriation of three existing works also distinguishes the three-chapter structure of the book. The book consists of snapshots, diaries and found images I created or collected during my 10 days stay in the city, as well as fragments (film stills and text excerpts) from three existing works: The Sky Crawlers (2008, directed by Mamoru Oshii), Invisible Cities (written by Italo Calvino) and 2 or 3 Things I Know about Her (1967, directed by Jean-Luc Godard). Although the book doesn’t have a content page, within the seemingly fragmented structure, three chapters unfold themselves – War, City, and Connection (from there to here / from I to you). This book is nominated as one of the best photobooks in Fotobookfestival Kassel 2015, and listed as Author Book Award in Arles Photo Festival 2015.ġ0 Days in Kraków is presented in the form between a travelogue and a scrapbook. ![]()
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