US: A Denied Reality

In 2014-2015, I designed and developed a website, promotional materials and press campaigns for photographer Christopher Everard’s book US: A Denied Reality. which was released in November 2014. The book was purchased by several high-profile bookshops in London, Paris, Tokyo, Los Angeles and New York City and received wide acclaim. It is available from its co-publisher, The Eriskay Connection.

"US is a story about guilt, individual guilt, collective and societal guilt along with its co-joined partner, hypocrisy. It’s an exploration of ‘a denied reality’, that’s a reality concealed by subjective propaganda and opinion. It’s an American story with universal resonance. Christopher J Everard (GB/US) explores the guilt that surrounds the adult entertainment industry, the guilt within the industry and the guilt that accompanies the consumption of the products and services it produces. The book is an objective investigation of the industry, its structures and processes, the people who populate it at all levels and its relationship with the communities it inhabits. Everards position is this is a pretty normal industry; it produces globally dominant products and services, is led by real visionaries in the American tradition, and innovates hugely in the areas of technology, marketing and the client experience. This is juxtaposed with the statistics that measure the consumption of the products and services. Per head, Utah, the home of The Mormons, is consuming the most porn. In fact states that vote republican in presidential campaigns, have higher levels of regular church going, vote not to legalise gay marriage, actively promote the agenda of the NRA and dominate the top ten states in the porn consumption per head league. This is of course the hypocrisy that inevitably accompanies their consumption. US is also Everards story as he evolved the project. His time in L.A., in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. The book with its loose narrative and distressed editing has the feel of a road trip, a travelogue, something that seems perfectly natural to him considering the environment and the context."