We’ve gathered together some of the most exciting photography books to look forward to this autumn. From everyday acts of faith in small-town Wales to a candid visual diary of cosmetic surgery and captivating portraits of Mexico City’s queer community, take a look through the galleries below for a glimpse of the most exciting monographs…

VIVIANE SASSEN, PHOSPHOR: ART & FASHION 1990-2023

Published in conjunction with Viviane Sassen’s upcoming exhibition Phosphor: Art & Fashion 1990-2023 (at Paris’s MEP), the accompanying monograph traces 30 years of the acclaimed artist’s career. From early previously unpublished images to recent projects and commissions, the book brings together Sassen’s fine art practice and her fashion photography, distinguished for its ingenuity and treatment of colour, alongside an abiding attraction for the surreal.

Phosphor: Mirrors and Portals is published by Prestel and is available on October 24 2023 from your local independent bookshop.

PALOMA ELSESSER AND ZORA SICHER, TREASURE

Treasure (published by IDEA Books) documents two major breast surgeries; undertaken by Elsesser and photographed by Sicher. This deeply personal book, of which there are only 500 copies, includes texts by the model and photographer as well as French artist Orlan. 

The book was Elsesser’s idea and, right from its inception, she had chosen Sicher as the ideal photographer to document her surgery. “We made this book so that I’d never forget,” Elsesser explained. “Time, trauma, and memory always contort my recall. I wanted a record: to be able to revisit the time and know that there was beauty and there was sorrow.”

Through bold close-ups, Treasure is “designed to interrogate autonomy. It is an imaginative attempt at understanding the pursuit of oneness and asks, who gets to be the arbiter of such subjects; oftentimes, not ourselves; most times, others. What would it mean to do it for you and no one else?” Reflecting on the deeply intimate series, Elsesser reflected, “I will never be the same again”.

Treasure is published by IDEA and is available here now.

ROO LEWIS, PORT TALBOT UFO INVESTIGATION CLUB

Known for his projects documenting curiosities and subcultures such as Elvis tribute artists in Wales and the LA eccentric known as Hollywood Jesus, photographer Roo Lewis’ most recent monograph is called Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club (published by Gost). Over the last two years he has photographed the Welsh town of Port Talbot, which according to actor Michael Sheen, has an “extremely high number of UFO sightings”.

However, the resulting book is not a study of UFO sightings – it’s more of an exploration of the people, landscape and folklore of the town. Capturing day-to-day mundanity in a dreamy, golden hue, Lewis highlights the kind of everyday acts of faith which are so often overlooked or ridiculed. “I think it’s really hard to tell positive stories well, without them seeming a little bit contrived. It’s easier to tell negative stories. I want to celebrate the people in this book,” he explained. “I love the idea of looking up into the sky and dreaming, it’s all about the pursuit of something. I think that’s what we connect on, it’s our shared human experience and Port Talbot in itself is a very human story.”

Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club by Roo Lewis is published by Gost Books and is out now. 

MELISSA SCHRIEK, ODE

Ode, published by Guest Editions, sees Melissa Schriek pays homage to sisterhood and women’s friendships. Intertwined and overlaid, she combines the real and the staged to conceptualise her unique approach to documentary. This shoot captures both subjects mirroring each other’s poses to relay the deep bond of togetherness experienced in sisterhood. Schriek explains, “It struck me that this bond is often represented in [popular] media as ‘toxic’, dramatic or hostile. Or there is even no attention for female friendship at all... I wanted to create a document of photographs that would show a different side of friendship, without losing honesty.”

Ode is published by Guest Editions and is availabe to pre-order here now.

PRESTON GANNAWAY, REMEMBER ME

For 17 years, Preston Gannaway has been photographing a boy called EJ following the death of his mother. Her new book Remember Me (published by Gost) gathers together poignant portraits of memory and loss.  

EJ – who was four years old when his mother Carolynne died — became the focus of Gannaway’s project. He first appears as a small boy and the book traces his progress as he navigates his way to adulthood in New Hampshire. Images of everyday details, landscapes and portraits collectively investigate the impermanence of the human experience. 

Remember Me by Preston Gannaway is published Gost and is available here now.

MICHELLA BREDAHL, LOVE ME AGAIN

Love Me Again by Michella Bredahl (published by Loose Joints) is an immense and intricate body of work concerned, at its root, with exploring femininity and the male gaze. The book comprises highly contrasted and vividly high-saturated portraits of friends and acquaintances, spanning over a decade. 

Created as a response to the photographer’s own modelling days, the book is born from Bredahl’s experience of feeling objectified and commodified after having been scouted at a tender age.

Love Me Again is published by Loose Joints and is available 

CARLIJN JACOBS, EYES

Photographer Carlijn Jacobs is, by her own admission, “obsessed” by the “drama and theatre” of eyes. “Eyes are the truth of a person, the mirror of the soul,” she recently told Dazed Beauty. “I’ve always had a fascination with them.” 

Eyes (published by Note Note Éditions) brings together a selection of the photographer’s mesmerising studies of eyes, taken from various shoots over the course of her career. Drawing on her enduring interest in surrealism, the monograph encompasses otherworldly collaborations with various makeup artists, including a prodigious number of looks created by Masea Ito. “She is a great artist, very creative,” said Jacobs. “And you can see there are a lot of Japanese influences. We are both attracted by dramatic, cinematic looks to give new dimensions and shapes to the eyes.”

Eyes is published by Note Note Éditions and is available here now.

MAYAN TOLEDANO, NO MAMES

Mayan Toledano shares the stories of her queer community through her reportage, fashion and portrait work, documenting their lives with empathy and respect. Her photography is characterised by its colourful dreaminess, and she often captures her young subjects in their bedrooms. No Mames pays tribute to the local LGBTQ artists, designers and creatives who are currently contributing to Mexican culture – many of whom are couples, roommates, and childhood friends. 

Toledano’s process is twofold – first, she captures her subjects as they present themselves in everyday life; then, she photographs them as they would like to appear, facilitating the construction of their fantasy selves. This collaborative act of wish-fulfilment sometimes coincides with real-life transformations; for instance, she followed one of subjects, Havi, over the course of her gender transition, during which she underwent breast augmentation surgery.

No Mames is published in October by Les Presses du Réel and is available to pre-order here now.

FUMI NAGASAKA, DORA, YERKWOOD, WALKER COUNTY, ALABAMA

In 2017, Japanese-born photographer Fumi Nagasaka visited the small American town, Dora in the state of Alabama, for the first time. Compelled to try and make a record of the kindess, humour, and spirit she encountered, Nagasaka produced Dora, Yerkwood, Walker County, Alabama – a poignant and achingly beautiful ode to this captivating close-knit community.

“[The book] is a photographic record of the incredible experiences I had during my time spent in Walker County,” she writes in a press release accompanying the book. “The areas I visited and the individuals I met were unforgettable and hopefully the images in this book show the uninitiated a view of this region as seen by an impartial outsider who came to view the area as another home.” 

Dora, Yerkwood, Walker County, Alabama is published by Gost and is avilable to pre-order here now.

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