BOOKS

BRASCHLER | FISCHER

DIVIDED WE STAND

Of course, it is very risky to describe a whole nation on the basis of 66 portraits. However, as in the tradition of series by the likes of August Sander or Richard Avedon, this collection manages to capture an impressive portrait of a moment in time. The Swiss photography pair, Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer, set out from New York City in April 2019, and travelled through 40 US States. They did a 15 000 mile road trip in a number of months, driving a delivery van converted into mobile home – which included a pop up photo studio. Along the way, they portrayed, interviewed and filmed Americans from every walk of life, and with very differing opinions about life, politics and the country. There were factory workers, farmers, salespeople, investment bankers, politicians, students, teenagers, pensioners, fathers and mothers, of all ages, ethnicities, professions and genders. Taken as a whole, it clearly reveals the dissension within the people and their nation, which stands before a decisive moment this November. “America, for me, is everything. It’s life. It’s love. It’s beauty, it’s sadness, it’s hatred, it’s war. It’s chance for advancement and opportunity, but it’s also oppression and sadness,” Californian Walmart employee Jamie says, sharing her feelings about the USA. The portraits and corresponding texts are impressive: the viewer sees things that often leave them at a loss for words, while also asking for understanding.

160 pages, 66 images, 23 × 30 cm, English/German, Hartmann

EXPOSURE TIME

A PHOTOGRAPHIC ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF MAN IN THE INDUSTRIAL AGE

This is much more than just the catalogue for an exhibition: it offers insight into the enormous collection of Swiss collectors Ruth and Peter Herzog. In just over five decades they have gathered together around 500 000 pieces, located in Basel since 2015. This selection is a subjective history of photography accompanied by well-informed texts: surprises and new discoveries guaranteed. 360 pages, 359 images, 24 × 32 cm, English, Christoph Merian Verlag

PAUL BELLAART

LAST YEAR’S NEST

Dreamy memories of a carefree summer: the Dutch fashion and portrait photographer made use of the early summer lighting close to Amsterdam, for this black and white photo book. Together with eight models discreetly followed by his camera, the photographer produced an intense series made up of still lifes and nudes.

156 pages, 74 images, 24 × 32 cm, English, Distanz Verlag

ORHAN PAMUK

ORANGE

As day turns to night, the warm glow of twilight is gradually replaced by the orange glow of city street lamps. With this wistful realization, the Turkish Nobel Prize winner for Literature set out with his camera time and again, to capture the gentle atmosphere of life bathed in nocturnal orange, which he feels expresses a peaceful attitude to life. Today, however, aggressive white lighting is increasingly taking over. The fixtures may well

be energy savers, but have little to do with the author’s familiar memories of Istanbul. Orange is much more than just a series about lighting; it is a melancholic farewell to a beloved city that is becoming more and more alien.

192 pages, 350 images, 17.6 × 25 cm, English, Steidl

SIBYLLE FENDT

HOLZBACHTAL, NOTHING, NOTHING

The next village a long hike away, no occupation, very little distraction. Waiting. Maybe drinking a cup of tea or cooking. Smoking. Staring at a mobile phone. And still waiting. The atmosphere in this house in the middle of nowhere is oppressive: for over twenty years, this former hostel, hidden deep in the Black Forest, served as community lodgings for refugees and asylum seekers, until finally, in December 2018, the last twelve occupants were distributed to other houses.

For three years, the Berlin Ostkreuz Agency photographer repeatedly spent time with these African, Afghani and Syrian men. Sibylle Fendt will never forget her first impression: “Outside, the beautiful Black Forest scenery was so familiar to me, but of complete insignificance to the inhabitants. They built themselves dens, small shelters covered by fabrics.” The photo book opens with a sequence of images of the same piece of landscape at each season of the year. Next comes the series of powerful, respectful and intimate portraits. The photographer took her time: sensitive images capture the passing of time, the representation of nothingness in that run-down place. The series gives faces to some of those who would otherwise be overlooked or only seen as statistical factors for a global refugee problem. Here they are real.

168 pages, 78 images, 20 × 24 cm, English/German, Kehrer