Melanie Cobham
Bodybuilding (Special Edition)

Flâneuring the strangely familiar

The special edition is limited to 25 copies. Each copy includes a 21 × 29.5 cm print, signed and numbered by the artist, printed on 315 gsm, 100% cotton, white high-gloss, Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta paper.

Bodybuilding: Flâneuring the strangely familiar is the debut photobook of multidisciplinary artist and photographer Melanie Cobham which traces her early years in Melbourne/Naarm after relocating from Uruguay just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Created in a time marked by isolation and extended lockdowns, Cobham utilised photography to observe, make sense of and connect with her new surroundings. The photobook, as a result, portrays a quiet and contemplative view of Melbourne/Naarm’s urban landscape, devoid of people and filled with fleeting details, surreal reflections and architectural forms.

The photographs reflect the perspective of the modern-day flâneur, observing and examining her surroundings with an intentional sense of detachment; one that allowed Cobham to immerse into the city experiencing an urban standstill. The result is an introspective and deeply poetic observation of a city through a pair of unfamiliar eyes, transforming solitude with curiosity and wonder.

The book features contributions from Melbourne/Naarm curator, writer and researcher Caitlin Langford and an interview by artist Damien Laing, delving further into Cobham’s practice and the gendered dimensions of flânerie as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated space. Cobham’s diverse body of work primarily probes the complex relationship between identity and place, interrogating the nuances of language, migration and belonging.

Cobham’s studies include Design, Fine Arts, Filmmaking, Communication and Silversmithing, having recently completed a Master of Contemporary Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts. (Paperback/Hardcover)

150 Pages
220 x 290 mm

Design:  Evi-O.Studio
Text by: Melanie Cobham, Damien Laing, Caitlin Langford

ISBN: 9 780645 521047
2025 FE048

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