Contax G1 Fuckups 　by Mick Robinson (1997)

Unplanned accidents have always been a part of the artistic process. Though these accidents have nearly always been considered valid, few artists have presented them as transparently as Mick Robinson. In Contax G1 Fuckups, each featured image has literally been rendered out of focus due to a failure on the part of the automatic lens. This work references the popular 'blurred' aesthetic of photographers who purposefully take out-of-focus images, such as Uta Barth, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Wolfgang Tilmans. Simultaneously, 'G1 Fuckups' challenges the viewer to search within each image for the artist's intended 'shot'. Another post-modern layer to this body of work is offered in the form of the text on the front and back covers, which refers to the artist's friend 'Mike', who warns Robinson about the focusing mechanism of the Contax G1 at the time he purchases the camera. Thus, G1 Fuckups also becomes part of a personal dialogue and admission of poor judgement.