A house with yellow windows on the coast of Kent. Familiar brick terraced houses on the outskirts of Leeds. Dimly lit portraits, overcome with colour palettes tending towards dark green, hazy blue and simmering turquoises. These are just some of the mesmerising shots to be found in this season’s selection of photobooks. From Sebastian Sabal-Bruce’s evocative urban landscapes, to Gabriel Moses’ visceral, emphatic images, each of these photobooks tells a story of its own. Discover our top five picks.
Sebastian Sabal-Bruce: After the Moon | Damiani
The essence of the first monograph by New York-based Chilean photographer, Sebastian Sabal-Bruce, is deeply rooted in his native land. Before settling in New York and focusing on fashion photography, Sebastian shifted between continents and pursued studies in fine arts, theatre and psychology. After the Moon evolved gradually, standing both as a response to and a statement on the fashion industry. Sebastian began collecting genuine moments captured within these staged settings. Faces, expressions, and landscapes that initially seemed out of place in their original context found profound significance. The results are photographs that portray women who appear enigmatic and perpetually on a journey.
Peter Mitchell: Nothing Lasts Forever | RRB Photobooks
Nothing Lasts Forever is the first retrospective monograph by Peter Mitchell, a photographer best-known for his chronicles of Leeds. The book acts as a visual guide to navigate Mitchell’s long-rooted connection with the city, charting his career from his early images made in the 1970s and 80s whilst working as a truck delivery driver. It introduces readers to the artist’s storytelling abilities ranging from A New Refutation of the Viking 4 Space Mission, which imagines an alien explorer visiting Leeds, through to the re-telling of his own autobiography by inanimate objects observed by Yorkshire Scarecrows. The book also coincides with an exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery from 17 May – 6 October, 50 years after Mitchells’ first exhibition there.
Prospect Cottage: Derek Jarman’s House | Thames & Hudson
“Prospect Cottage is the last of a long line of “escape houses” I started building as a child at the end of the garden.” Artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman’s (1942-1994) Dungeness home is instantly recognisable: a cottage composed of black wood panels offset by its vibrant yellow frames. The traditional fisherman’s cottage was bought by Jarman in 1986, becoming a workspace and sanctuary for him and actor Keith Collins (1966-2018), until the artist’s death. In 2018, the photographer Gilbert McCarragher, a friend and neighbour, was tasked with creating a visual record of the space: an artwork in its own right. The resulting Thames & Hudson book grants us entry, through words and photographs, into Jarman and Collins’ life.
Todd Hido: The End Sends Advance Warning | Nazraeli Press
Aesthetica-featured artist Todd Hido has fixed his camera on desolate landscapes for over 30 years. His nighttime shots of American suburbs are instantly recognisable with their characteristic mistiness. Elsewhere, rain droplets speckle the lens. The End Sends Advance Warning follows on from his show at Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York, capturing cinematic scenes through a desolate, yet painterly lens. It features bleak, rain-spotted scenery and decrepit buildings. Turning through the pages, it feels like an ever-present storm has affected and blown over each image, leaving them hazy and wind-swept. However, as we reveal in our full review of the book, Hido always reveals a glimmer of light and hope within the darkness.
Gabriel Moses: Regina | Prestel
Gabriel Moses was only 18 when he received his first commission from Nike. Since then the self-taught British Nigerian photographer has been in enormous demand, with clients that range from Louis Vuitton and Burberry to Chanel and Vogue. The book emerges out of an exhibition of the same name that displayed at 180 Studios last year. Moses’ characteristic use of deep, moody colours, deepened greens and scarlet reds, results in an emotionally resonant and reflective work that plays with topics of ancestry, culture, family and gender. The artist draws on studio luminaries such as Gordon Parks and Malick Sidibé, all the while introducing a distinct aesthetic rooted in his South London and Nigerian background.
Image Credits:
Sebastian Sabal-Bruce ©️
Giedre, Sebastian Sabal-Bruce ©️
Nothing Lasts Forever, Peter Mitchell ©️
Derek Jarmans House, Gilbert McCarragher ©, Garden Room.
Dazed, 2022 © Gabriel Moses / Prestel, 2024.
