Are 'Friends' Photographic?

Just before the postal strike takes its toll, I'd like to once more sing the praises of receiving totally good stuff through the letter box...

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the photographer who photographed the photos which make up this phabulous book of photographs that I received through the post the other day.

Jonathan Winstone, who'd had work featured in the late, great +1 Magazine where I think he saw my stuff, got in touch with me about the possibility of swapping one of his newly published books for one of my comics. This is an awesome concept which (if embraced by the rest of the world) would allow me to ply my landlord with drawings each month in exchange for the roof over my head, and barter with people as to how many drawings I would have to draw for them in order to get nice things off them that they had made.

Obviously I agreed to Mr. Winstone's exchange, but when I received his hefty, full colour publication, I decided that it was probably worth (at least) two of my humble, black n' white offerings, so now he has a spare.

The pictures in 'Two Hundred and Sixty One' are great. They seem to effortlessly capture a unique, alien viewpoint through a series of international 'dead spaces'. Even the shots of a quite obviously British dog-track create a distance from the subject which brings an eerie otherworldliness to a seemingly mundane environment.

You can see some of Jonathan's work on his website, buy his book from Lik + Neon (where you can also purchase my comic) and read up on his side of this wonderful swapsie-story on his Blog.