A sun-baked love letter to Ibiza photographed by Munich-born Walter Rudolph (1915 - 1997). A masterful observer, Walter’s career was dedicated to capturing the spontaneity of life as it unfolded, defining the visual language of mass tourism. Employed by airline operators Iberia and TUI, his images were distributed through photo stock agencies, with the objective to promote and sell the promise of the perfect summer holiday. It wasn’t until he arrived on the still-unspoilt island of Ibiza that his photographs revealed both how much and how little has changed five decades on.
Set against the backdrop of the island’s mass tourism boom in the 1960s and 1970s, the book is curated by Agony + Ecstasy founder Emma Salahi, and explores the ever-changing landscape of Ibiza. Through candid observations of both locals and tourists, Rudolph captures social scenarios in which the subjects largely remain oblivious to his lens. A time capsule to post-Franco Spain, it is arguably one of the most thriving chapters of Ibiza’s history before the island was drastically reshaped into what we see today. On the cusp of discovery, Rudolphs’ iconography is stylised, visceral and saturated in colour displaying the richness of society as it was. A deep sense of nostalgia runs through his images with comforting pangs of long-lost people and places, reversely landmarks which still exist today.
Forewords by Juan Suárez and Emily Steer
Published by Agony + Ecstasy Gallery | First Edition of 500 | Hardback | 24.5 x 26.5cm | 128 pages
Release Date 29th April.
Pre-orders available now, with delivery scheduled for early May.
