IN YOUR AMERICA by Sven Willms

Cover von Sven Willms Photobook "IN YOUR AMERICA"

photo books 26. January 2020

Graffiti is an integral part of urban space all over the world. Unsolicited, it is part of the cityscape and its authenticity stands in stark contrast to embellished billboards. Grasping or even capturing this art is extremely difficult. Due to the mostly illegal creation context, it is, by its nature, fleeting, always in motion in a cycle of becoming and passing away. In order to exhibit and present it, it must be captured on film. In his photographic works, the artist Sven Willms documents such works and portrays their authors as a reference to the place that is irrevocably connected with this art – the street.

The analogue documentation of a short-lived art form

Sven Willms’ has documented this art and its artists. For eternity. For this purpose, the photographer flew from Bremerhaven to Philadelphia, where he used to live for a while with his aunt. The result can be found on 112 pages in the A5 sized “In Your America”. More than 100 analogue photographs found their rightful place in photobook produced by the German photographer in 2018. In the timeless aesthetics of analog photography, Sven shows anonymous portraits and graffiti writers from Philadelphia executing their art. There are artists and their work to discover, such as OZ the Wizard, King Kair, Yuneek, King Bate, Be81, Seus, Boog, Rone, Tact, Eroer, Ache, Snak, Gage, Krime, Derm, Zero, Wacko or Kar. Either documented on 120mm or 35mm film.