A photographic collaboration reflecting the visual link between Cosio and its mythical lost twin village, Socio

Rik: For me, Jamie’s idea of the underground twin of Cosio had the effect of making me look at Cosio itself in a different way, noting for example an upended chair in a field, the door of a gas meter box mounted upside down and all the dark holes and alleyways that could all serve as a link to Socio. 

Jamie: Photography by its nature creates reflections, copies, reversals and ‘negatives’. It seemed a medium perfectly suited for exploring the twins and doppelgängers of Cosio / Socio, and their inverted, mirrored worlds – one on the surface, one deep underground.

Rik: For the exhibition, we decided to present Cosio and Socio through dual photos, with in most cases the Socio part upside down and in black and white. However, once immersed in the Cosio-Socio world, it was really no longer necessary to juxtapose the two in this way. I could see Socio when walking around in Cosio.

Jamie: It was exciting to have another artist take the concept somewhere new, somewhere of their own. I was also very happy that the elements of ‘twins’ and inversions were being explored. In Presentia I ended up focusing more on the story of Socio’s journey through the earth (since it seemed more suited to performance), and less on the ideas of reversals and twins.

Rik:  It must have been tempting to envision Socio as a scary and evil place, and I enjoyed that Jamie made it, although dark, an open community longing to be together again with the people of Cosio on the surface.