1001 Pieces of Shit.
1001 Pieces of Shit is not only a celebration of thirty years of Philip Browne Menswear selling cloth to the public of Norwich and beyond. It is also a celebration of a man who has lived his colourful life far outside the average bounds of normality, and for a man who has been an influence to more people than one.
This book is a journey of his life, each object perpetually frozen on a shelf in his office, the number growing larger each year. He doesn't keep everything but he’s partial to holding onto objects of significance, to a specific experience, a moment, or just because he likes how it looks. His collections have become an integral cog in the engine driving the ambience in the shop and we feel they communicate a true sense of him and Philip Browne Menswear.
Humour is a big part of this project and the title of this book eludes to that, however, there is a seriousness to this accumulation of stuff that shines a bright light of significance, to him, to us, and whoever may witness it. He may not see it this way but it has become a devoted life project by Philip that is a poetic gesture, a self portrait that he's been working on his whole life which is far more accurate than a painted picture.
Each object has a personal story, a history that has a sort of weight that is not visible - they have become an abstracted essence of himself. A thousand words and smiles can be attributed to all of the objects in this book, but perhaps the significance lies not in the objects themselves, but in how they became situated on that shelf.
This is a portrait of: our father, our boss, our friend, our mentor, our hedonistic maniac that can move, twist and shake in the click of a finger.
We thank you.
