Love & Hate & Other Mysteries

A photograph is forever. Or is it? Culled from the vast vernacular photographic collection of Thierry Struvay, Love & Hate & Other Mysteries presents a funny, often poignant and truthful glimpse into the human condition. The unassuming and elegantly designed hardcover publication explodes once opened with 100 found black-and-white and color photographs that have been manually altered by scissors or pen or physically attacked in a fit of rage. Some deletions, such as a missing face in the shape of a heart or oval, were clearly intended for a locket. Others, however, contain angrily scratched-out heads and bodies or are simply torn in half. A third group feature manipulations more mysterious in nature: strange cut-outs that hint at a mix of emotions and motives. Together the photographs suggest a wide range of human drama, from affection to anger and much in between. The Brussels-based collectors sprawling collection of found portraits runs the gamut from sexy snaps of men in jockstraps to all-American family portraits, a portion of which is currently on view in Brussels (2016). As with many of the sought-after titles by August Editions, Love & Hate is produced in a limited print run.