From the war in Ukraine, the 75th anniversary of Magnum Photos Agency or an intimate dive into the heart of Athens, here are ten photographic treasures of photo-documentary and photojournalism.
1/ Thierry Clech, Sunset On Ukraine
Moments of lightness, smiles and embraces… Thierry Clech traveled around Ukraine during the summer of 2013, three months before the Maïdan uprising, “not knowing that it would be the last summer of the country in its territorial integrity.” A carefree summer on the beaches of Odesa or Crimea crowded with Russian and Ukrainian tourists and children playing in parks and the sand… Through images and writing, Thierry Clech shows that the stability was rather fragile and that one already felt the first signs of the upcoming conflict. The photographer shot 73 rolls of film during his long-term reportage, namely over 2600 photographs, 76 of which were selected for this book.
Sunset On Ukraine, 128 pages, 78 illustrations, Snoeck editions, texts by Thierry Clech, in French, English, Dutch, 19cmx21cm, 28€.
2/ Guillaume Herbaut, Ukraine, terre désirée
Another important work on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is that of the French photographer Guillaume Herbaut. He has been traveling around Ukraine for the past 20 years, with Ukraine, terre désirée (Ukraine, the desired land) as the fruit of this work. Guillaume Herbaut received the prestigious World Press Photo 2022 award for the third time in his career. This book helps us understand the roots of the current conflict and the complexity of the territory the photographer has been exploring all these years. He followed the Orange Revolution in 2004, the conflict in Donbas, the annexation of Crimea in 2008, the Maïdan Revolution in 2014, and the war that started on February 24. “Before the Russian invasion, Ukraine was divided into different zones: contaminated zones, war zones, but also, at the time, peace zones, like a mirror of the future of our societies. From a forgotten war to images of a conflict that destabilized the world and appeared on every newspaper’s front page, we discover a nation rising and fighting for its freedom. A reason that pushes me to continue.”
Ukraine, terre désirée, Guillaume Herbaut, Textuel editions, 216 pages, 25cmx27cm, 140 images, 49€.
3/ Magnum Photos 75 Years
Magnum Photos celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. This book chronicles the famous photo agency’s history through its photographers and the small stories hidden behind the great images of our time. From May ’68 to September 11, 2001, from the Vietnam War to more recent conflicts, the reader discovers the background of an iconic photograph or the personal accounts of the photographers. The book’s peculiarity is that it talks about pictures without showing them directly. The reader has to unfold the first and last pages of the book to discover the images hidden inside.
Magnum Photos 75 Years, French and English editions, texts by Philippe Séclier, Hardcover, 13,5×21,5 cm, 104 pages, 106 texts, 32€.
4/ Magnum Generation(s)
Magnum Photos’ 75th anniversary is also celebrated in the comic book “Magnum Generation(s).” The comic strips that include period photographs take the reader on a journey through the agency’s history and the great names that have marked photojournalism in the 20th century. Henri Cartier-Bresson, the co-founder of Magnum Photos agency, said: “Magnum is a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually.”
Magnum Generation(s), author: Jean-David Morvan, artists: Rafael Ortiz, Scietronc, Arnaud Locquet, colorist: Hiroyuki Ooshima, Magnum Photos, Caurette edition, 21cmx28cm, 248 pages, 29,90€.
5/ Chris Killip, Skinningrove
This book is the story of humans and seamen. Skinningrove, a small village on the northeastern coast of England, is home to a tight-knit community of fishermen that photographer Chris Killip documented between 1982 and 1984. “Like many secluded fishing communities, they are often hostile to outsiders, especially those with a camera,” recounted Killip. “The Skinningrove fishermen believed that the sea in front of them was their private territory, theirs alone.” Out of respect for these people, it took the photographer 30 years to turn his work into a full-fledged book. First published in 2018 as a journal that he personally and anonymously slipped into every mailbox in the village, the new Steidl edition includes an introduction by the photographer and some of his unpublished photos. The book was completed shortly before Killip’s death in October 2020.
Chris Killip, Skinningrove, Steidl Editions, 104 pages, 50 images, 30×20 cm, English, 50€, scheduled for December 2022
6/ Christopher Anderson, Marion
Photographer Christopher Anderson started taking pictures of his family like an ordinary father, as treasured memories. That was until one day, photographer Tim Hetherington saw a photo of Anderson’s wife, Marion, and said, “this photo speaks of the passing of time.” Anderson then realized that those photographs were, in fact, his life’s work. His new book, Marion, marks the final chapter in a trilogy chronicling their life and love. “This has never been a creative exercise. The photographs are expressions of love… a record of that expression. They are more than memories,” says Christopher Anderson.
Marion, Christopher Anderson, Stanley/Barker Editions, 160 pages, 22×25 cm, 47,95€.
7/ Niko J. Kallianiotis, Athenai, In Search of Home
In Athênai, In Search of Home, photographer Niko J. Kallianiotis returns to his roots. It is the sequel to the Greek photographer’s first monograph, America in a Trance, done in Pennsylvania, his second home for the past 20 years. The city of Athens, having changed profoundly, still remains familiar to him. His lens wanders through the alleys, the city outskirts, meeting its inhabitants to offer an intimate portrait of the Greek capital.
Athenai, in search of home, Niko J. Kallianiotis, Damiani, 30,5×21,6 cm, 119 pages, 35$.
8/ Fred de Casablanca, Les Mains patientes
Fred de Casablanca presents his photographic project of great tenderness in Les Mains patientes. The general practitioner has been taking pictures of the hands of some of his most trusted patients since 2017. The black and white and tight shots and the palm and fingers positioning reveal traces of time passing, individualities, and personal stories. The patients share a small and very touching piece of their lives in the images. It is a beautiful photographic demonstration of the special bond between the doctor and his patients.
Les Mains patientes, Les Mains patientes, published by Le Bec en l’air, 112 p., 35 €.
9/ Goran Tomasevic
This is a bible of photojournalism, signed by a photographer who has covered conflict zones for almost 30 years. The Serbian Goran Tomasevic, born in 1969, is a figure of war reporting. A member of the Reuters agency since 1996, he has incessantly covered the world’s tragedies, following in the footsteps of Robert Capa and James Nachtwey. He published a reference book of 444 pages and 256 photos, testimony to his incredible career that began in the 1990s during the breakup of Yugoslavia. Awarded many times for his work in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, he also covered South Sudan, Pakistan, Mozambique, Nigeria and even the Olympic Games.
Goran Tomasevic, published by Lammerhuber, 256 photos, 29×31 cm, 444 pages, English, French, German, 59€.
10/ Décadrage colonial
Décadrage colonial is about an unknown chapter of the efforts of Surrealists and the artistic avant-garde of the 1930s. The book looks back at the artists’ reaction to the International Colonial Exhibition in Vincennes in 1931 by creating the parallel exhibition “The Truth about the Colonies” to denounce France’s colonial policy, mainly through photography. The book also shows the role of the medium in representing exoticism, using the National Museum of Modern Art collection.
Décadrage colonial, Textuel edition, 192 pages, 160 photographs, 45€.
