both images taken from www.sebastian-burger.de

Sebastian Burger

Baku – pre-release offer.

I met Sebastian at the Hamburg Fotobuch Tage this year and he showed me the dummy to his upcoming book Baku. It is a documentatry work about this city in Azerbaijan, suffering a loss of identity not through degradation but through a skyrocketing economy, creating a market with no or little concerne for cultural heritage.

Its changes in the current century however are especially grave: land prices rocket high and alone between the years 2000 an 2008 about 800 new high-rise buildings have been built. Though Azerbaijan´s rich in architectonical heritage: Wilhelminian styled buildings, Boulevards and great promenades form the cityscape award Baku a European flair although its core is even oriental. The new apartments are often vacant, not seldom they are bought only as an investment. In the course of this rapid change a lot of Azerbaijanian cultural heritage from the times around 1900 is about to be replaced. S.B.

Here are some good pictures of the specail edition with concrete slip case.

He is financing the book with a pre-sale offer which seems very reasonable at 26 euro, and if you like, your name will be listed as a supporter.

Get all the info here.