[ BOOK LIVES ] iDubai by Joel Sternfeld

I have at least one other book by Joel Sternfeld but iDubai has to be shelved in another section, away from the rest.

First it is small by Sternfeld standard. Second, compared to everything else he has done, this book seems so accidental and accidental is not a word you would associate with the man known for his deliberate large format works.

But Sternfeld has insisted that iDubai is part of his bigger project concerning sustainability and climate change which also consists of Sweet Earth, What It Changed, and Oxbow Archive.

How so? I guess you will have to read and re-read the essay in the book by Jonathan Crary.

I tried doing that but did not go very far. I guess my brain is stuck with the usual Sternfeld.

But I think I get the drift. 

The book, with gold letterings on the cover, also comes with different colours. The gold is of course not real, but I won’t be surprised if there exists a deluxe edition using real gold. 

Yes, consumerism at its best. Why buy one when you can buy the entire rainbow?

At the end of the day, this book is a series of iPhone-made snapshots paraded more like contact sheets; the images were shot more as a reaction than keen observation; there is an urgency to get it over and done with; it’s temporary, it’s makeshift; it is trendy without depth; it is vulgar consumerism against tradition worth keeping.

OK, I digressed.