‘Poet Fool’ by Patrick Joseph

posted by Marcroy April 15, 2016

Patrick Joseph is a multimedia artist based in London who uses photography, video, digital and other processes in his work and has 10 years of varied experience in journalism and creative industries. He is currently working on a series of projects that deconstruct his own archive from the past decade, creating new works from old material to explore media and technology cultures, memory, communication, recent history, and human experience. His first book titled ‘Poet Fool’ — life according to graffiti: an alternative social documentary, is an A5 format, 128pp, full colour publication limited to a run of just 100 copies. Be sure to get your hands on a copy for just £20.

‘Poet Fool’ (2016) is a photobook containing a catalogue of 129 images of raw graffiti documented from public spaces across Europe and beyond, between 2011 and 2015. Presented as a visual essay, it forms a collective snapshot of society through unfiltered human expressions of love and hate, freedom and control, hope and despair. Some poetic, others foolish, but all of it real and evocative.

Often familiar, sometimes challenging and occasionally uncomfortable, the book offers a selection of randomly found words and symbols reflecting common threads and recurring themes in contemporary life. It features visual residues left behind by anonymous people, including handwritten messages, protest stickers, stencils, guerrilla posters and love locks. They refer to different subjects ranging from personal confessions and political statements, to broken fragments of stories, ideas and conversations.

Due to the nature of the subject, some images may contain offensive or sensitive material including strong language, sexual references, and controversial themes, all of which play a part in the book’s conceptual narrative within the context of social study through art.
All elements (except printing and binding) created solely by the artist, including photography, texts, and book design, in the spirit of artists’ books and artist-led independent publishing.