Extreme Tourism

Thomas Mailaender collects and stores away images he finds mainly on the internet. This is how he discovered the existence of Steve Young, a photographer based in Hawaii who gathers information on volcanic eruptions. Besides an impressive gallery of volcanoes, his website offers a playful section with his “Volcano Fantasy Photo Business” that is a perfect echo to Thomas Mailaender’s artistic world. In exchange for a few dollars, Steve Thomas proposes photo souvenirs of expeditions on the flanks of the most dangerous craters, through photomontage and ludicrous productions. Extreme virtual tourism in full colour.
Between compulsive appropriation and mirror games, Thomas Mailaender donned his Hawaiian shirt and took part in the proposed productions. He selected twenty of them that he arranged in this artist’s book. The keen attention paid to the fabrication and design of the book emphasizes the new status that the artist’s intervention confers on these images.