by Jim Shaw (Artist), Clément Dirié (Editor), Marc Jancou (Editor)
Jim Shaw is known for his desire to produce an immersive visual oeuvre aimed at exploring the dark side of the American psyche. Since the end of the 1970s, his manifold practice has offered a reflexive mirror to our contemporary societies through extensive series, the mise-en-scene of alter egos, and a passionate interest in the stakes and iconography of popular culture. 'Paperback Covers' derives from the comprehensive corpus of the 'Dream Drawings' which ape the appearance of book covers, both in terms of dimensions and volume. The reference to the physicality of cheap paperbacks is combined with a nod to the Anglo-American graphic design tradition, with its full-page images and publisher or collection logos. All that is missing is the text. Titleless, authorless, but not fiction-less, the paintings depict dream scenes whose titles shed light on narrative elements, condensing the narrative into a single image, in which the first-person narrator identifies himself as Jim Shaw.