Provoke- The Gong Co- Issue

Thoughts and ruminations on a photography book

Photography books span a vast spectrum, from glossy coffee-table volumes showcasing aerial views of Italy to comprehensive collections of Amazon wildlife. However, I want to focus on a different category: photography books crafted by artists who transform their images into complete experiences.

These photographers understand the unique magic that happens within a book's pages. They carefully consider every aspect—image sequencing, design elements, cover texture, paper quality, and physical dimensions—to create an immersive journey for the viewer.

Christian Patterson's special edition of "Gong Co," published by TBW Books, exemplifies this approach. Over two decades, Patterson documented an abandoned Chinese-owned general store in the Mississippi Delta that first caught his eye while driving through the region. This derelict building served less as a living museum and more as a dying one—with peeling paint, collapsing walls, and the pervasive smell of mold and mildew as nature reclaimed both the structure and its contents.

Patterson made multiple visits to the store and had numerous objects shipped to his New York studio, where he photographed them in a series of compelling still lifes that appear throughout the book. His creative approach extends beyond simple documentation, incorporating screenprints featuring various sayings that enrich the overall narrative experience.

The book maintains a dynamic rhythm throughout, never settling into predictability and consistently offering surprises to the viewer. Those fortunate enough to possess the special edition enjoy additional treasures—authentic store receipts and handwritten notes carefully inserted between the pages, creating a multidimensional experience that bridges the gap between photography and artifact.

One of the most striking aspects of Patterson's work is the conspicuous absence of people. The few human figures that do appear serve merely as props holding objects, their faces deliberately obscured. This approach denies viewers direct access to the individuals behind the store, focusing instead on the physical space and its contents. This deliberate omission compels viewers to imagine the struggles and triumphs experienced by those who inhabited this space throughout its existence and eventual decline.

The abandoned store ultimately functions as a powerful metaphor for the cycle of life itself.

Patterson's artistic journey received significant support in 2015 when he won the Vevey International Photography Award, which provided funding for this project. In discussing his creative process with Time Magazine, he explained, "I try to seek out a subject matter that has multiple layers to explore and leads me to ideas not only for photographs but for documents, objects, and installations as well. When these various visual and physical threads are woven together, an 'other' world can be entered through the work, and that is what inspires and excites me right now."

This recognition was not Patterson's first accolade. His previous book, "Redheaded Peckerwood," published by MACK, earned the prestigious Rencontres d'Arles Author Book Award in 2012. Further cementing his standing in the photographic arts community, Patterson was also named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2013.

It's worth noting that Patterson spent valuable time working alongside the renowned Southern photographer William Eggleston, an influence clearly evident in the vibrant color palette of his images. During a 2013 conversation with Bomb Magazine, Patterson articulated his relationship with color in simple yet profound terms: "I'm just attracted to it. It catches my eye and pulls me in like a moth to a flame. I might see something out of the corner of my eye and walk over and investigate or make a picture."

Photographers rarely achieve greatness in book form without crucial partnerships, and behind the most exceptional photography books often stands a visionary designer. "Gong Co." exemplifies this collaborative spirit, with Paul Schiek serving in multiple capacities—as designer, creative collaborator, and the book's publisher—bringing a unified vision to the project that enhances Patterson's photographic exploration.

Loring Knoblauch, writing in Collector Daily, offered a commentary on one aspect of the book experience, which offers some insight into the level of care and attention to detail that has been applied to this work.

“To me, Patterson’s work feels like a loving fugue or an elegy, where abstract ideas like “American”, “Southern”, “small town”, “general store”, and even “aging” are examined in the specific, and found to be much richer and more nuanced than we might have ever expected. As I went to put Gong Co. on my shelf, I noticed that some of the page edges had become a little oily, like I had been handling the book with slightly sweaty or grimy hands. I now think that these marks were not my doing, but were actually put there by Patterson as well, adding a sense of lived in use to a few pages here and there; at first I was relieved to conclude I hadn’t scuffed the book myself, but then I simply had to admit that there was some very intentional magic going on. In this way, Gong Co. fully rewarded the time I invested in it, forcing me to see a forgettable old country store as something quite a bit more subtly astonishing.”

You can get hold of the Gong Co Special Edition from TBW.

If you happen to be in Berlin, the work is being shown at the Robert Morat Gallery