Featured Books
All the books are interesting, here is our selection of the month
GOST
In the US, approximately 1000 people continue to die each year in ...
GOST
Life, Death and Everything in Between presents key photographs by Don ...
Special edition
This luxurious special edition celebrates Richard Billingham’s ...
Loose Joints
Fortune uplifts the long-enduring nature of Black culture and ...
Aperture
The definitive and only authorized biography of Josef Koudelka—an ...
Kominek
"The US west coast has always been a magnet for young searchers, and ...
Anómalas
“Funnily enough, the title of this work (Nothing Happens Twice) ...
Skinnerboox
“Nel mio recente lavoro, Questo ricordo lo vorrei raccontare, ci sono ...
Skinnerboox
Odette England collects found photographs showing men taking pictures ...
Skinnerboox
Nel paradosso del web il corpo e la nudità trovano spazio quasi ...
Skinnerboox
Created over two weeks on the streets of Athens, ‘Dear Kairos’ is a ...
Skinnerboox
Tagadà is a coming of age project started in 2014 and shot around ...
Lamaindonne
"The series by Italian photographer Lorenzo Castore, taken over ...
Chose Commune
Rione Sanità (Naples), Santa Lucia (Cosenza), Torre del Greco. There ...
GOST
Every day on the news we are shown images of war and destruction. ...
Stanley Barker
The images in Bill Henson’s cinematic new book The Liquid Night, ...
Steidl
Joel Sternfeld entwines two personal stories in this book that ...
Charcoal
The Seraphim is the second volume of the The Seven Seals septology by ...
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GOST
In the US, approximately 1000 people continue to die each year in encounters with police. More than any other industrialised nation. My America is an archive of and memorial to victims of these encounters. The photographs, taken at locations where citizens were shot or tasered by law enforcement officers, create a quiet but chilling critique of the contemporary United States. The scale of the book attests to the scale of the problem yet Matar asks us to remember these are individuals.
The black and white photographs in My America are of city parks, shopping malls, parking lots, mobile homes, empty fields, and roadside highways. By photographing these banal landscapes Matar declares that what happened at the locations matters and questions the link between landscape and memory.
My America . Diana Matar
Published April 2024
195 x 254 mm
304pp, 110 images
Hardback
ISBN 978-1-010401-43-9
GOST
Life, Death and Everything in Between presents key photographs by Don McCullin. The 140 images in the book—some rarely published or previously unseen—were edited by McCullin through the process of revisiting his archives and reassessing photographs made from the late 1950s until last year. The book aims to be neither a retrospective nor definitive publication, but to present a selection of images valued by McCullin with the benefits of both hindsight and wisdom, encapsulating his prolific, varied and ongoing career.
The publication of the book coincides with the exhibition Don McCullin in Rome – a Retrospective from 10 October – 28 January at Palazzo delle Esposizioni.
More about this book
The book opens with McCullin’s documentary photographs made in London in the 1950s, followed by reportage made in conflicts across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia. More recent photographs in the book link the legacy of the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean and the latest, previously unpublished landscapes made near his home in Somerset.
‘Known for the bold, frank and always emotionally engaging gaze with which he approached the most disparate subjects, McCullin produced some of the most recognisable images of poverty, hunger and war in the history of photography, as well as documenting the landscape—both in Britain and abroad—with the style and passion that distinguishes all his work.’ – Simon Baker
Life, Death and Everything in Between . Don McCullin
Published November 2023
280x360 mm portrait
224pp, 142 images
Hardback clothbound
ISBN 978-1-915423-20-7
Special edition
This luxurious special edition celebrates Richard Billingham’s revelatory new edition of Ray’s a Laugh, one of the most significant photobooks in the history of the form. It presents a signed first MACK edition of the book, housed in an embossed linen slipcase completed by a tipped-in portrait of Ray, alongside a signed and numbered hand-made print in a card sleeve.
First published in 1996 to enormous acclaim, Richard Billingham’s Ray’s a Laugh is one of the most significant photobooks of the turn of the twentieth century, as well as a cornerstone work of the Young British Artists generation. Formed of starkly intimate images of Billingham’s often chaotic parental home under the heavy effects of alcoholism and poverty, the book was produced in the 1990s with editors Michael Collins and Julian Germain. This new edition restores Billingham’s original vision for his deeply personal work for the first time. Including numerous unseen images and a distinct approach to sequencing inflected by Billingham’s training as a painter: it constitutes a ‘director’s cut’ and reintroduces a vital and consistently challenging work for a new era.
The publication of this new edition is accompanied by Ray’s a Laugh: A Reader, edited by Liz Jobey, which traces the book’s compelling history from Billingham’s ‘discovery’ at Sunderland University, through his Turner Prize nomination, to the present reworked edition. Purchase Ray's a Laugh: A Reader here.
Ray's a Laugh Special Edition . Richard Billingham
Edition of 250 copies
Embossed linen hardcover and a signed and numbered hand-made print, housed in a slipcase with a tipped-in image
Print size: 8 x 10” / 20.3 x 25.4cm
ISBN 978-1-915743-32-9SE
March 2024
Loose Joints
Fortune uplifts the long-enduring nature of Black culture and traditions in the American South across ten years of portraiture rooted in history and the landscape.
Flour, water, and salt. These are the sole ingredients that make Hardtack: a Civil War-era food long-associated with survivalism, land migration, and its extremely long shelf life. Drawing from this history as a metaphor for the long-enduring nature of Black culture and traditions, Hardtack uncovers the roots that tie Fortune's native landscape to the conflicts and nuances associated with the post-emancipation Americas.
In the follow-up to his breakout monograph I can't stand to see you cry, Fortune borrows from the language of vernacular and archival photography to interrogate the historical relationship of his community to photography; rooted in the landscape, Fortune often uses sites of historical and cultural interest as a guide but not a subject, implying the deep ties that bind modern Black communities resiliently to their regions, in the face of both adversity and joy.
A significant theme in Hardtack is Fortune’s striking portraits of coming-of-age traditions. Inside, young bull-riders, praise dancers, and pageant queens inherit and gracefully embrace these forms of community ritual. Fortune's dignifying eye pays tribute to these cultural performances' rigour, discipline and creative flair, alongside the intergenerational conversation between young people and elders handing down these traditions. Collecting together nearly a decade of work, Hardtack continues Fortune’s weaving of documentary and personal history, marking a sincere expression of love and passion to a region that has nourished the artist personally and creatively, while also marking an important contribution to photographing the American South.
Rahim Fortune . Hardtack
Signed
144 pages, 238 × 287 mm, 72 tritone plates
Section-sewn clothbound debossed hardcover
With a text by Imani Perry
Edited by Sarah Chaplin Espenon at Loose Joints
Designed & Published by Loose Joints
LJ198, March 2024
978-1-912719-55-6
Rahim Fortune is a visual artist and educator from the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma. He uses photography to ask fundamental questions about American identity. Focusing on the narratives of individual families and communities, he explores shifting geographies of migration and resettlement and the way that these histories are written on the landscapes of Texas and the American South. Fortune’s previous book, I can’t stand to see you cry, was published by Loose Joints in 2021, and was the winner of the Rencontres d'Arles Louis Roederer Discovery Award 2022. His work has been featured in exhibitions worldwide and many permanent collections, including the High Museum in Atlanta, GA, LUMA Arles, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and The Boston Museum of Fine Art.
Aperture
The definitive and only authorized biography of Josef Koudelka—an intimate portrait of the life and work of one of photography’s most renowned and celebrated artists. Throughout his more than sixty-year-long obsession with the medium, Josef Koudelka considers a remarkable range of photographic subjects—from his early theater work, to his seminal project on the Roma and his legendary coverage of the 1968 Soviet invasion of Prague, to the solitariness of exile and the often-devastating impact humans have had on the landscape. Josef Koudelka: Next embraces all of Koudelka’s projects and his evolution as an artist in the context of his life story and working process. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of almost a decade with Koudelka—as well as ongoing conversations with his friends, family, colleagues, and collaborators worldwide—this deftly told, richly illustrated biography offers an unprecedented glimpse into the mind of this notoriously private photographer. Writer, editor, and curator Melissa Harris has independently crafted a unique, in-depth, and revelatory personal history of both the man and his photography. Josef Koudelka: Next is richly illustrated with hundreds of photographs, including many biographical and behind-the-scenes images from Koudelka’s life, as well as iconic images from his work, from the 1950s to the present. The visual presentation is conceived in collaboration with Koudelka himself, as well as his longtime collaborator, Czech designer Aleš Najbrt. Copublished by Aperture and Magnum Foundation
Josef Koudelka . Next
A Visual Biography by Melissa Harris
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of pages: 352
Number of images: 282
Publication date: 2023-11-21
Measurements: 7.25 x 9.5 inches
ISBN: 9781597114653
“Melissa Harris’s visual biography, intriguingly titled Next, was written with his cooperation, and is a thorough and informative overview of his life and work. Rich in personal ephemera – family portraits, snapshots and glimpses of his many journals – it traces his trajectory from Boskovice, a small town in Moravia, where he had dreams of becoming an engineer, to his status as one of the world’s most revered photographers.”
Kominek
"The US west coast has always been a magnet for young searchers, and it was that for me as well. Though in my case it was more of a vast departure lounge, a long drawn out stopover, than a final destination.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, trips to Asia always began in California. Sailing by freighter from San Francisco, or on multi-stopover air tickets to Tokyo or Bangkok originating in SFO or LAX. I stayed in cheap hotels, or half-slept in all-night cinemas, met people and photographed them and wandered around the streets by day and by night. I would linger for days or weeks, travel by Greyhound bus to other cities, and then eventually board a plane or ship to cross the Pacific.
In a way these pictures mark the beginning of a trip I never returned from. A time of heightened anticipation: the new everyday around me and the one to come when I finally arrived in one of Asia's great cities (and, as it turned out, didn't leave for decades). Thanks to Misha Kominek at Kominek Books these photographs are now finding an audience I couldn't dare imagine at the time."
Greg Girard
American Stopover . Greg Girard
Hardcover, 160 pages, 300x227 mm (landscape)
Kominek Books Berlin
ISBN 978-3-9824542-6-9
Anómalas
“Funnily enough, the title of this work (Nothing Happens Twice) evokes the mythology of the decisive moment, the photographic kairos that enables us to better understand preceding and following moments, quite the contrary to the work of Israel Ariño. In his case, nothing is pressing or immediate; there are no allusions to events or reality, and even less to truth. By means of photography he subverts the real: he doesn’t photograph the world for what it is but for what it conceals. This is what pervades his oeuvre — for him, photography isn’t a reflection of reality, it transcends reality.”
Caroline Bénichou, from the text in the book
This book has been published in the framework of the exhibition Res no passa dues vegades, by Israel Ariño, in Sala L’Escorxador of Museu de l’Empordà in Figueres from 23th February to 19th May 2024..
Res no passa dues vegades . Israel Ariño
Texto de Caroline Bénichou
Diseño: underbau
Catalán/ Español/ Inglés/ Francés
26 x 20 cm. Contiene 2 leporellos de 980 x 260 mm. Rústica
isbn: 978-84-09-58343-0
Skinnerboox
“Nel mio recente lavoro, Questo ricordo lo vorrei raccontare, ci sono alla base elementi spirituali a sfondo autobiografico chiusi in immagini dove tutto è dato come essenza, come odore mentale, come simbolo, come proiezione del pensiero.
Nel recinto del linguaggio il soggetto prende una vitalità nuova, in nuove circostanze, che spezza i vecchi schemi per evocare quella musica che è voglia di vivere ancora, è una preziosa mia confessione critica dell’avventura della vita, una linea di riflessione legata ai segni nati dalla nebbia postoperatoria divenuta poi cristallo forte e preciso, un flusso di immagini tra me e il mondo, miste al mio respiro fragile che sorreggeva il corpo in quel momento, pieghe dell’anima invase dalla luce, per architettare un racconto anche come intuizione futura nel silenzioso fiume del tempo”.
(Mario Giacomelli, 2000)
“In my recent work, I would like to tell you about this memory there are underlying spiritual elements with an autobiographical background closed in images where everything is given as an essence, as a mental smell, as a symbol, as a projection of thought.
In the enclosure of language the subject takes on a new vitality, in new circumstances, which breaks the old patterns to evoke that music which is the desire to live again, a precious critical confession of mine of the adventure of life, a line of reflection linked to the signs born from the post-operative fog which then became strong and precise crystal, a flow of images between me and the world, mixed with my fragile breath which supported the body in that moment, folds of the soul invaded by light, to concoct a story also as a future intuition in the silent river of time."
(Mario Giacomelli, 2000)
QUESTO RICORDO LO VORREI RACCONTARE . Mario Giacomelli
February 2024
24x28 cm
108 pages
Swiss Binding
ISBN 978-88-94895-78-0
–
Curated by Katiuscia Biondi Giacomelli, Milo Montelli
Designed by CH-RO-MO
Texts (ITA/ENG) by Katiuscia Biondi Giacomelli, Brad Feuerhelm, Davide Rondoni, Francesco Zanot
Skinnerboox
Odette England collects found photographs showing men taking pictures of women without permission, women rejecting the camera by placing their hands over their faces, men posing with guns, and hands. For England, these images suggest a complex relationship between guns, cameras, and violence against women. There is a shared vocabulary between guns and cameras that load, aim, and shoot. In making these connections, England hopes to surface the problematic visual habits embedded in our culture and to work towards an alternative way of using the camera to share our voices rather than normalize violence. Shortlisted for the 2023 Images Vevey Photobook Award and awarded a grant from The Puffin Foundation.
WOMAN WEARING RING SHIELDS FACE FROM FLASH . Odette England
October 2023
16,5x21 cm
96 pages
Leather hardcover
ISBN 978-88-94895-69-8
–
Edit and sequence by Odette England, Cara Buzzell and Milo Montelli
Designed by Cara Buzzell
Text by Kim Beil
Official European Launch at Polycopies - Paris Photo (November 8-12)
Official US Launch at the Contemporary Art Galleries, University of Connecticut (Wednesday, November 29, at 6 p.m.)
Skinnerboox
Nel paradosso del web il corpo e la nudità trovano spazio quasi esclusivamente nella pornografia. Dal lungo elenco di stimoli visivi che sgorgano dai social media il corpo umano per quello che è viene escluso o quantomeno controllato, conformato, censurato. Attraverso la fotografia Giulia Bersani esplora i corpi nel tentativo di riprendersi e condividere una libertà di pelle, imperfezioni e bellezza.
In the paradox of the web, the body and nudity find space almost exclusively in pornography. From the long list of visual stimuli that flow from social media, the human body for what it is is excluded or at least controlled, conformed, censored. Through photography Giulia Bersani explores bodies in an attempt to recover and share a freedom of skin, imperfections and beauty.
CORPO . Giulia Bersani
July 2023
16,5x23,5 cm
112 pages
Softcover with handmade stamp
ISBN 978-88-94895-67-4
–
Designed by Milo Montelli and Giulia Bersani
Skinnerboox
Created over two weeks on the streets of Athens, ‘Dear Kairos’ is a letter to the Ancient Greek considerations of time. The viewer is invited to consider the Kronos, the linear, mechanistic and determined passing of clock and calendar time, and the Kairos, serendipitous, opportunistic and boundless time. Through the use of repeated scenes and careful sequencing, ‘Dear Kairos’ asks the viewer to consider moments loaded with significance that can be pushed through and embraced in order to distinguish, as Frank Kermode writes, “between mere chronicity and times which are concordant and full”, avoiding that which is fixed and easy to categorize, instead looking to embrace a boundless lack of beginning or ending.
“The Kairos moments of serendipity and fantasy are an invitation to embrace that which errs on the less distinguishable. We cannot plan or know what the creative outcome will be, we may not even have the language to describe it beforehand, but the act of photography allows not only for the images to take the shape of their author but for the practice of making them to influence the photographer. If you remove the necessity for the images to be perfect, the subconscious is allowed to breathe, the images free to honestly reflect our imperfect and incomplete inner selves.” - Simon Bray
DEAR KAIROS . Simon Bray
April 2023
16.5x24 cm
128 pages
Swiss Binding + Gold Hotfoil
ISBN 978-88-94895-65-0
–
Text by Simon Bray
Designed by Milo Montelli and Simon Bray
WINNER OF THE FE+SK BOOK AWARD 2023
Skinnerboox
Tagadà is a coming of age project started in 2014 and shot around summer fun fairs all over Italy
Tagadà is the most fun of all rides at the funfair. Big scary rides find no place in the local funfairs of the Italian countryside, so Tagadà is the ultimate challenge. It’s the big monster at the end of a videogame. It’s fear and laughter at the same time. A split second of madness. Body first and mind to follow, both getting out of control. Tagadà makes you bounce, it makes your head spin. Eyes become so heavy you must squint them. One shouldn’t drink much before getting on the Tagadà, but obviously everyone drinks way too much before getting on the Tagadà. Things no longer look as they are. Welcome to your teenage years.
[Francesco Zanot]
Il tagadà è la giostra più divertente delle fiere itineranti. Nei luna park di provincia, quelli in cui le ingombranti e costose montagne russe non possono trovare posto, il tagadà è la sfida finale. È il boss contro cui bisogna misurarsi per chiudere il videogame. Paura e risate insieme. Un attimo di follia. Perdita del controllo. Del corpo prima e della mente poi. Sul tagadà si sobbalza. Sul tagadà gira la testa. Gli occhi pesano. Si socchiudono. Non bisognerebbe bere troppo prima di salire sul tagadà. Tutti bevono troppo prima di salire sul tagadà. La visione è compromessa. Finalmente le cose non sono più come sembrano.
TAGADA . Paolo Zerbini
April 2023
24x33,5 cm
150 pages
Softcover with PVC dustjacket
ISBN 978-88-94895-63-6
Text by Francesco Zanot
Designed by Francesco Valtolina