Boris Mikhailov: Yesterday’s Sandwich
Boris Mikhailov: Yesterday’s Sandwich
Book
This book is the first to focus on Mikhailov’s fascinating early body of work, the Superimposition series. Created in the late ’60s and early ’70s, the series features overlaid colour slides that form compelling “sandwiches”—a fusion of glamorous naked women, surreal urban landscapes, and strange scenes of everyday Soviet life. The result is a striking contrast between Soviet drudgery and images of sex and beauty.
Due to artistic restrictions during the Communist era, these works were never previously published. As a result, this book is both a unique and highly collectable object. It contains 52 colour tableaux printed on separate unbound boards, all enclosed in a specially created folder and slipcase. The design of the object is inspired by the concept of a box of unbound plates, or Kodak slides, allowing for interchangeable parts.
The case holding the unbound plates is crafted from raw grey board with flecks of recycled fibres, foil-blocked in gold. This design reflects the tension between Soviet reality and the romantic ideals of beauty. Mikhailov’s text about the series is printed on inexpensive magazine paper, reminiscent of Soviet print ephemera.
Phaidon Press
2007
