COMMON GROUND presents soccer goals without winners – the new book by photographer Rui Camilo, just published at CHROMFELD
The photographs compiled by Rui Camilo for this book are unified by a strong recurring motif: soccer goals, taken over many years. Away from the business side of soccer, the heightened emotions surrounding tournaments, celebrity hype, trophies, parties, Camilo photographs simple, often improvised goal constructions that have been built in a variety of places, some even remote, with the desire to play soccer together.
Playing soccer is in fact so much fun, the condition of the pitch and goals often doesn’t matter, but the goals do reveal a lot about their geographical and social context through their different designs.
The photographer’s position: in front of the goal and without opponents. Camilo’s choice of motif specifies a repetitive vantage point in advance, which clearly limits his creative freedom. The photos are presented as series in the book, but also individually, depending on the motif, mood or context.
The viewer is thus constantly aware that it is a collection of photos grown over the course of many years on several journeys thanks to a playful passion.
Although there are no players to be seen, the viewer is invited to imagine who might perhaps come and play on one of the pitches or another: workers after a shift, children after school, or hipsters who have discovered their love of soccer?
This is not a collection of the most bizarre, witty and strange goals; they are goals that Rui Camilo has encountered by chance on his travels. Which is part of the concept, making the collection additionally a very personal diary of sorts. There are informal soccer pitches all over the world.
The fragmented mosaics of our societies and living spaces often pose great challenges: Problems in everyday life become a minor matter on the soccer pitch. The game surrounding the ball works all over the globe, on a large scale and especially on a small one, as Rui Camilo’s photographs demonstrate.
The players in Nyksund, Shanghai, New York, Bora Bora or Wiesbaden more or less know the rules of the game and accept them, no matter what culture, community or religion they belong to.
The desire to come together and play soccer unites people as part of an extensive community-like network spanning the globe.
Rui Camilo is represented by GoSee PREMIUM Member HAUSER FOTOGRAFEN.
COMMON GROUND by Rui Camilo . First edition 2024, 500 copies . Hardcover with French flap, 30.5 x 22.5 cm . 200 pages, 226 color illustrations . English / German . Essay: Dr. Klaus Kleinschmidt
Graphic Design: Arne Kaiser . Publishing House: Chromfeld . ISBN 978-3-9824299-7-7 . The book is available for purchase at chromfeld.com
GoSee : hauserfotografen.de
