Richard Renaldi, Star Wars T-Shirts. Tokyo: Super Labo, 2020. Hand-stitched softcover, 40 pp. 28 x 21,5 cm.
The artist (Richard Renaldi)
Beyond traditional boundaries, Richard Renaldi's investigation into portraiture is demonstrated by his series "Touching Strangers," in which he physically unites people into a single frame, and "Manhattan Sunday," which captures the spirit of LGBT nightlife in New York City.
Renaldi's use of large format photography and his ability to create connections with his subjects bring out the complexity and the depth of the genre.
A baroque cosmology of heroes, icons and villains
Renaldi's project on Star Wars T-shirts demonstrates his intelligent and ironic reading of cultural phenomena in a complex visual environment. Thinking back on how pervasive Star Wars is in contemporary culture, Renaldi said in an Instagram-post on his Star Wars zine:
"Since the summer of 1977 (...) it became harder and harder not to notice that Star Wars t-shirts are now everywhere, and so I began to document them and their wearers. They transcend boundaries and ideologies. They are worn with as much devotion as wedding bands and rosaries. Offering a baroque cosmology of heroes, icons, and villains, Star Wars t-shirts are as endlessly variable as the individuals who wear them."