Made by MENDO
About the booksWho will recognize a great book better than a bookstore? A bookstore run by graphic designers. Here’s why: at MENDO we get market feedback seven days a week, we are blessed to be surrounded by a bunch of talented, inspiring people – photographers, writers and publishers – and after being a bookstore for more than 15 years, we can easily say we know what book aficionados are looking for. Don’t you agree that initiating, creating and realizing jaw-dropping books now, only comes natural?
A MENDO publication is a well-designed book with visually stunning creative content, browsed by people to be amazed and inspired. The subject-matter is one of our pre-defined curated categories, fashion, photography, interior, sport, lifestyle, food and traveling. In general, a MENDO book is a piece of furniture in itself.
Jack Davison focuses on the every-day details of Miao life: the hammers laid down after a day’s silverwork, the highway running over the waterlilies, or the stray threads accumulating in the weaver’s workshop.
The Miao are one of the oldest ethnic groups in China and are globally renowned for their intricately handmade clothing and patterns, as well as boisterous and imaginative local festivals and myths. As a key inspiration for Italian fashion house Marni, Davison was invited by Creative Director Francesco Risso to spend time and indulge in the pace of life and creativity in these rural communities.
‘ I did not want to be too heavy-handed. ’
‘ I did not want to be too heavy-handed. ’
Song Flowers eschews the intricate and grandiose to look at the intimate and everyday
In Miao culture, the epic folktale of the Butterfly Mother tells of their founding ancestor, who lays 12 eggs on the tops of their verdant, mountainous region.
Recited as a duet between male and female singers, Miao poetry is interspersed with improvised, lyrical observation poems called ‘Song Flowers’, used spark the imagination and provide rich, descriptive context. Davison’s work attempts to capture that vivid poetry written into the landscapes of Southwest China, as well as to create song flowers of his own: to capture the feeling, rhythm and texture of life amongst Miao communities. Davison’s calming images invite us to slow down, to adopt the gentle rhythms of sewing, embroidery and metalwork, while also considering how these rhythms exist alongside those of modern Chinese life.