If there’s a better summer pastime than whiling away the hours with a page-turner, we are yet to find it. Summer is, famously, the season of frivolous crushes and escapist reading, and photobooks have an especially summery allure, with their promise of adventure, beauty and nostalgia. In case you need help curating your summer stack, here are a handful of hot-off-the-press titles to peruse while sinking your toes into the sand.
1. Lin Zhipeng, Skinny Wave
One for the wanderlusters! This captivating road trip book by Lin Zhipeng (aka 223) brings together snapshots from his worldwide travels. Beyond the beautifully textured cover – available in two designs – you encounter supple bodies plunging into pools, waves cascading into mystical forms and fruits resembling human anatomy. 223’s photographs, as always, evoke the immediacy of touch, smell and taste – reminders that we sometimes don’t know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
‘Skinny Wave’ is published by Same Paper, £45.
2. Masahisa Fukase, Private Scenes
In the world of Masahisa Fukase, life and death are woven together in the same cloth. This wild, colourful and stylishly designed book collects the selfies of the enigmatic Japanese photographer who, having lost everyone – from his wives to his cats – began globetrotting throughout 1992, capturing the only subject that was left. He appears within his own frame, taking in sights such as the Taj Mahal, museum mummies, village ladies crossing the streets and feline friends and foes. This was Masahisa’s penultimate series — his eighth life — as it was later that year that he had a tragic fall which left him with permanent brain damage. With that in mind, Masahisa’s conviction that to photograph is to live again feels all the more poignant.
‘Private Scenes’ is published by Prestel, £39.
3. Viviane Sassen, Self Portraits 1989–1999
Out later this summer, this revelatory collection of early self-portraits by Viviane Sassen is full of surreal and sculptural experiments, demonstrating that the Dutch photographer has always had an eye for unexpected moments of fiction. Inventive, versatile and vivacious — it’s easy to see why Viviane has subsequently become one of the most sought-after names in the world of fashion photography. A must-have for all Viviane fans!
‘Self Portraits 1989–1999’ is published by Kominek Books, £39.
4. Gareth McConnell, The Horses
Hold your horses! This is a very elegant entry by Gareth McConnell, who really doesn’t rein it in with his trippy, rave-like takes of Icelandic equines. If anything, they appear to take the lead, with each horse’s personality — from solemn to euphoric — really shining through. The neat production values make this book a real pleasure to peruse.
‘The Horses’ is published by Sorika, £40.
5. Yusuke Yamatani, ONSEN I
Believe it or not, Yusuke Yamatani’s otherworldly photographs are shot on earth, more specifically, at the hot springs which abound in every corner of Japan. Slight enough to slip into your tote, this book is totally immersive and bound to make you lightheaded. A highlight is the cover, with its dampened effect the result of Yusuke’s laborious hand-soaking — an invitation to get even more wet on your own skinny dips!
‘ONSEN I’ is published by flotsam books, £22.
6. Karla Hiraldo Voleau, Another Love Story
Another Love Story – part fact, part fiction, part photobook, part screenplay – is one of the most daring photography projects in recent years. Through a savvy combination of scripts, screenshots, real camera roll pictures and meticulous recreations, Karla Hiraldo Voleau has re-narrated the final moments of her relationship, which broke down in devastating fashion. Big up to Karla, who has wrested back control so fearlessly. Her smart, layered book may well help you get over your summer heartbreak.
‘Another Love Story’ is published by Morel, £31.
7. Joel Coen, Lee Friedlander Framed
There’s something so musical – and indeed jazz-like – about this gem of a book by Joel Coen. The American filmmaker has been granted unlimited access to the oeuvre of photographer Lee Friedlander, delivering a zigzagging thread which sequences 70 of his wonky shots – most of which are spliced by street signs, tree trunks, car windows and so on. What more can be said of Lee’s eccentric eye – his weaving of order into chaos, his unnerving shadows, his concealing of mysteries in the everyday? What Joel has done so memorably is frame a very personal portrait of the American master, from him to us.
‘Lee Friedlander Framed’ is published by Fraenkel Gallery, £50.
8. Martin Parr, Málaga EXPRESS
We kind of dig Martin Parr’s snapshot of southern Spain’s Costa del Sol. Here, Málaga is divided into three photobooklets — “Food”, “People” and “Leisure” – each packed with bright, primary colours which are reminiscent of 1950s postcards. They’re less an expression of anguish at tourism’s mass homogenisation – a theme that has popped up over and over again in the Englishman’s work – but instead a pursuit of authenticity, no matter how banal, garish or kitschy Martin’s take may be. Here’s to flamenco, Picasso and sardine skewers!
‘Málaga EXPRESS’ is published by Martin Parr Foundation, £25.
9. Luca Massaro, Dizionario Vol.1
This ingenious, orange linen-bound “verbo-visual dictionary” by Luca Massaro traverses the alphabet with a vast array of images of words (is the Oxford English Dictionary now redundant?). It’s an inspiring and often amusing book that really makes you see the world. Luca is due to turn out volumes every decade, so keep your eyes peeled!
‘Dizionario Vol.1’ is published by Art Paper Editions, £25.
10. Maya Rochat, Poetry of the Earth
Grace, luminescence, majesty: these are the words which come to mind when flipping through Poetry of the Earth by Maya Rochat, the Swiss artist who’s been wowing audiences in Paris all summer with her epic exhibition at MEP. As the book’s title suggests, these (literally) scintillating pages extol the organic world in all its ephemeral beauty and fragility. This is Maya at her alchemical best, offering visions both macro and micro through her experimental use of photography and painting. It’s a tour-de-force which reminds us that books, in the end, are really liquids. Happy reading!
‘Poetry of the Earth’ is published by Art & Fiction, £107.
Credits
All images courtesy of the respective authors.