IT’S ALIVE! à travers l’oeuvre de Gisèle Vienne, the new book from French photographer Estelle Hanania, gathers over ten years of collaboration and archives revolving around the artistic universe of Gisèle Vienne. A subjective monography on the choreographer’s work, the present book makes for one of Estelle Hanania’s densest cluster of images to date, arraying a collection of photographs that spans from 2008 to 2019. For Estelle Hanania, whose work has previously been featured twice by Shelter Press, the human body has proven to be a limitless source of inspiration. Her ability at capturing the essence of Gisèle Vienne’s vision, through her acute visual understanding of bodies and objects, as well as her knack for building natural bridges between Gisèle’s performances and the whole of her photographic endeavour, make this new publication a much essential milestone in Estelle’s career. Shaking up the foundations of the classic live-performance book as we know it, It’s Alive! offers a singular take on the work of Gisèle Vienne, inviting the reader to look from beyond the stage’s borders, taking a step back and shifting perspectives, allowing to envision the whole of Vienne’s body of work under a fresh new light; the heart of the book deploying in truly free and sensible fashion, while eschewing the chronological, and/or thematic approach usually associated with such efforts. An ambitious photographic project in full resonnance with Shelter Press’ aspirations, it is with particular emotion that we welcome this title, reference SP100, to the fold – a number bound to establish as a landmark issuing in our catalogue.
