Recommended reading! On the occasion of the publication of 'Anastasia Samoylova & Walker Evans: Floridas' ("a nuanced reflection on the mythology of Florida in American culture and the ways in which the state is visually represented"), a great, in-depth interview between @goldmankay and 'photographer @anasamoylova is up now @bittersoutherner ⁠ ⁠ A sample: ⁠ JGK: Both you and Lauren Groff named your books after Florida. There are few states whose name alone connotes so much that you can use it as the title for a book.⁠ ⁠ AS: There’s a very cohesive idea of Florida, right? It’s this insane clusterfuck of everything happening at once, and it's all extreme. And yet all of that adds up to this incredible natural beauty. Florida is a consequential place that decides a lot for the nation, and its residents have significant political and economic power.⁠ ⁠ At the same time, the state is kind of going through a crisis of representation. It’s sold itself as this haven for retirees or tourists, but the lived reality is so far from that. There’s also this massive inward migration, coupled with an outward flow of people who can no longer afford to live here. The people who are moving here are often embarrassed to say they live in Florida because of everything the state connotes. ⁠ ⁠ So now there’s this question: Who’s now responsible for building up a narrative for the state? I think photography has a powerful role in creating collective memory, but it can also mythologize. That’s my goal — to think about the way I’m creating a narrative about the state, but also to shape a new idea of what it means to be a Floridian."⁠ ⁠ Read the full feature via linkinbio.⁠ ⁠ #AnastasiaSamoylova #WalkerEvans #Floridas #florida #bittersoutherner⁠ ⁠ ⁠