The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Wayne Swanson • It’s just a room, and a very small one at that, but there aren’t many spaces with a presence as large as the Roman Catholic confessional. S. Billie Mandle captures its seen and unseen power in Reconciliation. Mandle, a photographer based in Los Angeles and Western Massachusetts, spent ten years photographing... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • The deprivation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic knows no bounds. Consider the plight of the Los Angeles jet set. Boutiques on Rodeo Drive shuttered. Beverly Hills Hotel and Chateau Marmont deserted. Even their jets at LAX grounded and shrink-wrapped for freshness until the crisis is over. Those are the scenes... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • There’s nothing to see here. Yet photographer, artist, and photobook publisher Andy Burgess presents a captivating collection of images that remind us of what once was. Signs of Nothing delivers just what the title says — images of empty signs that once beckoned us to stores, motels, gas stations, restaurants,... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • This is one disorienting book. It deals with serious social issues — the effects of environmental pollution, institutional racism, the rise and fall of the industrial economy, and more. Yet the photos sure are beautiful. The painterly effects invite comparisons with a who’s who of modern artists. That’s a lot... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • From the first images, it’s obvious that this is a book of photographs from the war-torn Middle East. Iraq perhaps, or maybe Afghanistan. It’s hard to tell. But the desert settings, harsh desert light, and stark desert compounds make the location clear. Except that it’s not. The setting is actually... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • Ubiquitous. The use of plastic is everywhere and has become a classic double-edged sword. Its properties enable food and beverages to last longer, while its inherent chemical structure allow it to last almost forever. While many plastics can be recycled, getting the used plastic containers to the proper destinations for... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Sometimes a photobook can really get to you, with a narrative that is quite real. At the same time, while it may be full of mystery, the visual and verbal narrative that expresses the truth behind the mystery with all its unsolved challenges is so direct and insistent that it... Continue Reading →
Review by Steve Harp • I visited Albania in 2009. Until opening – slowly – to Western tourism in the mid-1990s, Albania had been known as the most tightly closed, inaccessible country in Europe, a blank spot on the map, even after the fall of the East bloc. So imagine my wonderment, while walking one night on... Continue Reading →
Review by Rudy Vega • Satoshi Hirano’s Reconstruction documents the large-scale redevelopment of Tokyo’s Shibuya station. Reconstruction is the culmination of a photography project Hirano pursued from 2014 to 2018. Portraying a nocturnal view, Hirano provides an insider’s look to the ongoing expansion of the station, offering the viewer access that would otherwise be difficult if not impossible... Continue Reading →
Review by Melanie Chapman • During these past few months of the pandemic, haven’t we each found ourselves staring out windows, looking for signs of life, and longing to travel near and far once again? Dotan Saguy’s newest work Nowhere to Go but Everywhere arrives at a perfect time. Even if the book’s title, taken from... Continue Reading →
