After I Die

AFTER MIMMO COZZOLINO

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AFTER I DIE. ARCHIVES, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHY. FRAGMENTS OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

DIE MIMMO COZZOLINO

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AFTER I DIE. ARCHIVES, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHY. FRAGMENTS OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

MIMMO COZZOLINO

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AFTER I DIE. ARCHIVES, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHY. FRAGMENTS OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

MIMMO COZZOLINO

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AFTER I DIE. ARCHIVES, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHY. FRAGMENTS OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

I visualized my own death: I was in the middle of a tip, on top of a pyre consisting of my dumped ‘junk’. My body was lying in state, about to be consumed by flames, fuelled by the very objects I had conscientiously accumulated over most of my life…

It was a horrible, apocalyptic vision… Although with time the image itself has become less strident, it is no less emblematic of my predic­ ament: the funeral pyre was in fact my archive.

In the vision I coped better with my own death than with the destruction of my archive. I believe that this rather melodramatic vision has been the subconscious driver of this research project.

MIMMO COZZOLINO

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AFTER I DIE. ARCHIVES, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHY. FRAGMENTS OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

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AFTER I DIE. ARCHIVES, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHY. FRAGMENTS OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

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AFTER I DIE. ARCHIVES, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHY. FRAGMENTS OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

This 16 page catalogue references the exegesis, the nine books and assorted archival material exhibited 7­9 February 2012 at Monash University Faculty of Art Design & Architecture Graduate Gallery, Caulfield East, Victoria, Australia.

AFTER I DIE. Archives, autobiography, photography.

Fragments of an autobiography [#49] Mimmo Cozzolino ISBN 9780987249807 Published by M(D)Cozzolino, Melbourne Australia mimmo@mimmocozzolino.com.au mimmocozzolino.com.au First published 2012, © M Cozzolino and contributors as credited below.

Edited and designed by Warren Taylor with Mimmo Cozzolino.

Photograph p 2/3, Tim Handfield.

Cartoon p 11, Meg Williams.

Cinematography stills p 14/15, unknown.

All other photographs, Mimmo Cozzolino.

Printing: Newsprinters, Australia Stock: Marathon Bond 70gsm Edition: 1000 I am most grateful to Matthew Perkins, my MFA supervisor, for his regular, pertinent and critical guidance throughout. I would like to thank my partner, Susanne Romanin, for her unstinting support and for being, together with our daughter Olivia and son Alex, my regular critical sounding board.

Many thanks also to Peter Murphy, Andrew Budge, Tim Handfield, Grant Shallard, Fysh Rutherford, Meg Williams, Rennie Vecchies, Trevor Flett, Tom Hederics, Con Aslanis, Geoff Cook, Izi Marmur, Tony Ward. A special thanks to Steve & Anne Hederics and Peter & Lynn Demaio for hosting, and recharging the batteries of many a tired artist, myself included, over the years I have known them – your contribution is truly remarkable. Lastly, Warren Taylor’s infectious enthusiasm, design expertise and curatorial intuition is sincerely appreciated.

Warren Taylor is a Lecturer in Visual Communication in the Faculty of Art Design & Architecture, Monash University.

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For forty years I’ve been hiding bits of my life in shoe boxes, folders, draws and filing cabinets.

For the last four years (as part of an MFA at Monash University) I’ve been looking at what I put away and choosing the fragments that say something about my life as a migrant and ‘New Australian’, designer, photographer and artist. This introspection has concluded (at least for the time being) with the creation of an exegesis and 9 limited edition books, which I want to share with you: 15 Fotografics from Italy 1983 ISBN 9780980774719 20 Arcadia del Sud, West Heidelberg Melbourne Australia circa 1966 ISBN 9780980774726 21 Flush 1990-2003-2011: a series of scans of found objects ISBN 9780980774733 22 Sub-urban Shadow-plays ISBN 9780980774740

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23 Scam: the scanner as a camera ISBN 9780980774764 10 Narcissus: tracing the photographed self ISBN 9780980774757 50 A Sunday in February ISBN 9780980774702

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09 Simon Klose: 1972 Documentation ISBN 9780980774771 24 After the grassfires (17 found objects) ISBN 9780980774795 After I die. Archives, autobiography, photography (exegesis)

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AFTER I DIE. ARCHIVES, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, PHOTOGRAPHY. FRAGMENTS OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY