Sochi Singers (SIGNED)

Rob Hornstra
Sochi Singers (SIGNED)

Photographs: Rob Hornstra

Publisher: The Sochi Project (Rob Hornstra & Arnold van Bruggen)

80 pages

Year: 2011

Comments: Softcover with dust jacket, 38 x 29,7 cm, color photographs. Inside in very good condition. Edgewear on the dust jacket and traces of use, scratches on the cover of the book and an impact at the bottom (see picture). Print run: 1000. Signed by Rob Hornstra and Arnold van Bruggen. Mentioned in Parr & Badger The Photobook: A History Volume III, 2014.

Sochi attracts mainly Russian tourists in the summer. On the one hand, they come looking for modern glamour; on the other, they attach great importance to Russian traditions. The ultimate example of this can be found in Sochi’s nightlife. Restaurants try to attract customers with flashing neon signs and semi-luxurious interiors. At the same time, every restaurant upholds a well-known Russian tradition of live musicians who belt out Russian chansons from behind an electric piano. Sochi Singers explores how a deeply rooted Russian tradition goes hand in hand with the city’s new capitalist glamour. The images are combined with quotes from popular Russian chansons.

“As it is, we can take in all the details of decor and setting in what is a fascinating, anthropological look at a social phenomenon.”

— The Photobook: A History Volume III, 2014