Rebecca McClellandLes Rencontres d’Arles reveals its treasures sometimes in mysterious ways. Gone Fishing is one such treasure that I perhaps wouldn’t of come across had it not been for it’s animated author, photographer Thomas Mailaender, descending on my quiet dinner with old friend Pieter Hugo, with all the force of a small hurricane.
Gone Fishing is a darkly comedic modern allegory that resonated only too familiarly with my dinner guests. A young Father escapes the newly appointed responsibilities of Fatherhood by going on an adventure with his friends, writing home sporadically to test his absent waters. The book is illustrated with fictional letters or ‘status reports’ and self-portraits of Mailaender in various humorous escapades.
Gone Fishing and other Mailaender titles can be bought from the rather brilliant Paris based publishers’
