Vici MacDonald

Vici MacDonald is a writer, editor and graphic designer based in London, England. She has authored a monograph on Australian sculptor Rosalie Gascoigne, renowned for her poetic assemblages of found text ('Rosalie Gascoigne', Regaro, Sydney, 1997). In 2007 she was was a founding editor, with publisher Steve Bush, of contemporary art magazine 'Art World'. In 2012 she and poet Tamar Yoseloff co-founded Hercules Editions, a small press combining poetry and imagery. They launched the imprint with the chapbook 'Formerly' (Hercules Editions, 2012), which paired Tamar's informal sonnets with Vici's photos of disappearing London. Other publishers and publications she has worked for include Penguin Group, Faber & Faber, Oxford University Press, 'Smash Hits', 'The Face', 'Eye' and 'The Art Newspaper'.

Online, Vici has created long-running daily photo-blogs of vernacular burglar alarm design (Burglar Alarm Britain) and sad old British shopfronts (Shopfront Elegy). Her latest project is a series of photobooks based on the Shopfront Elegy photos, numbering thousands of images taken over 20 years. The 'Shopfront Elegy' books will be a series of photo-essays on various themes and places, such as Grandeur, Grimness, Profil Font, Nice Names, Hull, Liverpool, Birmingham and many more; each image is accompanied by a fully researched caption. While stylish and elegaic, the books will also have a vein of humour in the choice and juxtaposition of images. The first volume, 'Shopfront Elegy: Sampler' (Reverse Press, April 2016) is a best-of compedium.