This concrete sleeve holds a unique piece of basketball culture, an archaeological tribute to the game and its battlefields. Through 76 photographs, Blacktop Memento celebrates the textures, colors, and erosion provoked by countless runs, bounces, and crossovers. Memories sculpted by the encounters between man and matter captured throughout the world these past 15 years. Entirely manufactured in French workshops, this independently published book and limited-edition sleeve resurrect past playground recollections.

• one limited-edition sleeve built from an ultra-resistant and unique blend of concrete and fiberglass
25.6 x 18.7 x 3.6 cm
• one signed copy of Blacktop Memento, fragments of erosion
156 pages hardcover book printed on 135g/m² Novatech satin paper using CMYK inks
+ fluorescent Pantone 812c + 803c + 801c inks
23.5 x 18 x 1.7 cm
• one 40 pages booklet printed on 60g/m² Elementa white paper using CMYK inks
16.7 x 12.5 cm

At the heart of Blacktop Memento is Kevin Couliau’s obsession with playground basketball and its imprint on urban landscapes.Through an archaeological exploration, the French photographer traces with Blacktop Memento an original cartography of asperities, wrinkles, and color spectra: memories sculpted by the encounters between man and matter. Blacktop Memento is an independently published book retracing 10 years of photographic archives. Couliau’s first book, entirely printed and fashioned in French workshops using traditional binding techniques, showcases an unprecedented selection of stills produced from his personal archives, a series of 76 playground close-ups collected worldwide for over a decade.