Sunday 14 October 2012

Sunday Zine Review #49: Fallen Empire by Akina Books






It's nice to see that more and more independent publishing houses are emerging every day. That's the case of London-based AkinaBooks, a new publisher that already offers a great selection of artist books.

AkinaBooks is run by Alex Bocchetto and Valentina Abenavoli, two Italians who have been living in London for a while and have decided to show a really different side of the city in Fallen Empire, one of the first books published by the house.

Fallen Empire consists of 2 booklets, a map and a nice button envelope which plays an essential role in the whole concept of the publication. The photos collected in Fallen Empire were taking during 2 years of wandering around the numerous areas of London and show a very different vision of the city, really far away from that tourist facade that most big cities usually present.

The authors of Fallen Empire have said about portraying that less known part of London, "we felt a critical point of view was somehow missing from every media representation of the city. The book is about the feeling of being lost in a city without fixed landmarks, while trying to make sense about the surroundings."

Fallen Empire also comes with a map, a cut-up of different parts of London mixed together and combined with found objects and notes from the streets of the city. This map, along with the envelope, mimics a tourist book/kit that invites you to get lost in this "dark" side of the city.

If you're interested in Fallen Empire, you can find more photos and information about the book here.

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