»When Carlos Spottorno showed me his new photo book, the pigs, in Arles, it was love at first sight. In it 39 Spottorno combines everything a good photo book needs to have: strong and powerful images, a clever concept as well as a stringent design and execution. Working on an actual and difficult topic to photograph — the financial crisis in the south of Europe — he found the perfect form: a satirical comment. The book, or rather the magazine, comes as a replica of the financial newspaper the economist and makes fun of the awkward acronym the pigs, which stands for Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain. It is designed in the same way and printed on the same paper as the original it refers to. Apart from the clever design, it is the photography that especially strikes me. They are satirical punches, playing with clichés and visual expectations. Subtle but pointed, it is a self-reflected comment by a great and intelligent Spanish photographer. Bravo!«

– Frederic Lezmi –
Istanbul