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Short Summary
GROT can be understood as something unpleasant, dirty, or of poor quality. The same-named debut monograph by Jonny Kaye provides a unique insight into the UK kink and fetish scene. Between the years 2020-2023, he compiled over twelve thousand analogue images to document the private community.
Jonny's work tends to stick in one's mind for a while… His photographs are immersed in erotica, rawness, and intensity. His signature analogue tactility and depth are juxtaposed with editorial aesthetics, creating a unique visual experience. GROT gives a podium to underrepresented sexualities, desires, and practices. It aims to include sexualities and identities that were for a long time marked as “perverse.” Consequently, it can be understood as a counter-archive that engages alternative modes of knowledge and strives to initiate discussion about the public knowledge of sexuality and relationships.
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In the current climate of deleting sex- and kink-positive social media accounts, this publication allows for the visibility of identities that were for a long time unimaginable and invisible. Jonny portrays kink as an art form, a way of life that gives a spotlight to remarkable personalities from the scene, all to be seen in this book. The book additionally includes texts by Anastasiia Fedorova, Eva Oh, Linda Zhengová, and Matt Skully, among others.
However, for GROT to become materialized, we really need your help as starting to print an independent publication from scratch requires a lot of resources which are impossible to get on our own. By contributing to this campaign, you help us with the
printing and distribution process alongside
the launch of this book in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Paris. We hope that you can support this project by choosing from the variety of rewards we offer. Enjoy this one-of-a-kind kink journey with us!
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What We Need & What You Get
The majority of the funding will be used for the printing and distribution costs which cover the largest amount of expenses. We would also love to use some of the funding to organize GROT launches in various European cities such as London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Berlin to celebrate this achievement together and do a proper meet-and-greet with all the contributors and create evenings filled with art, music, and performances. As a contributor, you will then be, of course, invited to all GROT-related events!
We are keeping the goal of the campaign flexible, as the more money can be gathered, the more we can provide you with. The higher the funds, the better quality of the book and events you can expect. If, however, the goal is not reached, we sadly would have to compromise in terms of the book's edition and the program of the launches. But in any case, we will print!
Specs of the book:
- Faux Leather Hardcover
- 204 x 254 mm, 272 pages
- First edition: 500, Self-published
- Photographs: Jonny Kaye
- Graphic Design: Łukasz Gula
- Curation: Linda Zhengová
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The Impact
This is the very first monograph of Jonny, hence, your contribution can be considered as one of the founding pillars for any future developments of the artist's career. In the past years, Jonny has managed to build a significant following on his social media by sharing unique imagery with his audience. By providing a novel insight into the medium of photography existing outside of the mainstream, his voice is certainly an important one. While remaining censorship-free and independent, supporting the existence of GROT can be taken as a small rebellion against the current social media climate and societal judgment, and we kindly invite you to be part of this protest too. Also, 10% of the funds will go to @swarmhive , grassroots sex worker-led collective fighting criminalization, supporting sex workers & engaging in solidarity across issues of justice.
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Risks & Challenges
The design of the book is almost finished and we are already in touch with a printing house in Lithuania, so we expect GROT to be done by the end of September 2023 to provide you with a rough indication. However, there can, of course, be some unforeseen delays in printing and distribution so there is a small possibility of having the release date pushed a bit further. We will then ship the pre-ordered books and perks to you as soon as they are produced.
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Other Ways You Can Help
If you cannot monetarily support the campaign at the moment, you could also help us by spreading the word and sharing this campaign with your network and via social media. For that, you can easily use the Indiegogo share tools.
If you are a bookstore and would like to purchase copies of the book in bulk with a wholesale discount, please contact us via sorryjonnydied@gmail.com so that we can create a specific perk for you.
If you are representing a press outlet and would like to cover the book, please contact us at sorryjonnydied@gmail.com
We greatly appreciate any form of effort! Thank you very much!
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