Click on the picture to flip the book. 58 pictures by Craig McDean.
Edited and designed at M/M (Paris). Introduction by Neville Wakefield.
« Craig McDean has a passion for cars. As a child, he spent hours going through the catalogues, listing all the "Mustangs, Camaros, Chevrolets, Firebirds, Cudas, Stingrays, Superbees, Demons, Dartos, Chargers, Challengers and Judges." Aged about seven or eight, he was driving around like Steve McQueen in Bullitt. Pushing his muscle car "hard and faster". Later, he started collecting dragsters, getting high on gas. Clothes soaking up the exhaust fumes. The immensity of the sky gives him a feeling of freedom that could be matched only by the roar of an engine. Weekend racers get together like one big family. Beer and laughter flow freely. Except for the young girl sulking in a corner. What she wants is a passport, not a driving license. She feels different. The flame that burns within her is not sponsored by McDonald’s. Her father watches her as he jokes with his friends. Nothing else matters to them. They lay bets on the million dollars to be scooped by the winner. Their minds are on just one thing: the starting gun, and pressing down hard on the gas. Cars from the sixties and seventies glint in the bright sun. The race is about to start. Suddenly, silence descends on the excited crowd. Craig can hear a bird singing. He sees the back of an fascinated spectator. He caresses the rump of a woman who’s lying down to tighten a bolt. He takes in the design of a tattoo and slips blissfully into the simplicity of life. All he can think is: "I love fast cars". »
Stephanie Cohen
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