My Kingdom by Catalan photographer Txema Salvans might bring together photographs of Spaniards enjoying the Mediterranean coast but it is not a book about soaking up the sun. Instead, Salvans cuts through the heat, offering a wry perspective on the political climate and ongoing discussions about nationhood in his home country. His book splices together black-and-white photographs of ordinary citizens enjoying the Mediterranean coast with words lifted from the annual Christmas speeches by the former King of Spain, Juan Carlos I (1975– 2015). In this subversive combination of image and text, the language acts like a socio-political filter, through which we see the gestures of the beach-goers parading their own small sovereignties: the freedom to nap, fish, picnic and play – against a backdrop of holiday condominiums, car parks, cranes and power stations.

Bringing together pomp and bathos, the book also includes an insert of extracts of speeches by infamous leaders including Benito Mussolini, Emperor Hirohito and Winston Churchill (as well as Charlie Chaplin), all proclaiming – seriously or irreverently – the authoritarian power of the state over people. My Kingdom underlines how leaders (whether they be, democratic, autocratic or monarchical) have routinely used nationalistic rhetoric to seduce their people, and as a fundamental mechanism of state control.

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OTA bound paperback with silkscreen printed cover and flaps. With stapled booklet and postcard
176 pages, 65 tritone plates
Dimensions: 17.5 X 23 cm