LA/BJ

Struck by the eerie similarities between the giant megalopolises of Los Angeles and Beijing, Sterling Ruby (born 1972) takes the reader into his own journalistic vision, sourcing photographs of landscapes and interiors of the two cities, both shot and found by the artist. Each page is claustrophobically framed by collaged imagery of stalagmites and stalactites; where the two cities merge, the book gives rise to a dystopian scene that reads like science fiction.

LA/BJ was commissioned by the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in Beijing as part of The Los Angeles Project, a series of individual artist books following in the tradition of John Baldessari and Edward Ruscha. Ruby was joined by fellow Los Angeles artists Kathryn Andrews, Aaron Curry, Alex Israel, Matthew Monahan, Ryan Trecartin and Kaari Upson, each contributing a book exploring the LA–Beijing pairing.

Ruby's practice spans sculpture, ceramics, textile and photography, frequently addressing incarceration, urban decay and the built environment; LA/BJ extends that interest in fractured, entropic cityscapes into a photographic and collage format.