Blake, Peter

Paris Escapades is a beautiful book of Paris collages by Sir Peter Blake.

In this enjoyable edition, Blake demonstrates his unerring gift for unexpected juxtapositions and visual story-telling. His collages demonstrate an almost childlike enthusiasm for Paris and an eye no less acute for having a permanent twinkle. Many familiar Paris monuments feature, while submerged in extraordinary events that turn them into the stuff of dreams. There is enough air of reality in some pictures, such as the Seine freezing over, to entrap the unwary spectator. Elephants hover above Notre Dame, and Paris becomes populated by the rich imagination of a visionary of our time.

Each of the 28 images in Paris Escapades is accompanied by the artist’s wry commentaries. The book is also preceded by an interview with Marco Livingstone in which Blake discusses his lifelong involvement with collage. Signed limited edition of 75 copies, each hand-bound and housed in a solander box with the signed and numbered loose-leaf original ink-jet print, Shooting Stars (pictured).