The Auckland Project

In the Spring of 2009, John Gossage and Alec Soth were invited to photograph in Auckland, New Zealand. For both, it was a trip of departures. Gossage has been working in black and white for over 40 years, and this trip yielded one of the first bodies of work he had ever produced in color. Soth’s work with the 8×10 view camera has inspired an entire generation of his contemporaries, and leaving it behind was key to approaching the world from a fresh visual perspective. The results represent a major shift of vision for these two vastly important American photographers. This publication represents the culmination of that trip. Both the concept and the content of the book have been driven by the uniqueness of the “collaboration” and the primacy of the book to the artistic practice of both Soth and Gossage. Essentially two books in one, The Auckland Project showcases a playful attention to materials and presentation that marks all Radius Books projects. Unlike 2007’s Obvious & Ordinary, in which Martin Parr (in his signature color) and John Gossage (using black and white) published the results of a road-trip across the American South, this volume presents the two photographers’ work separately, creatively combined through the device of the book and its housing.