Black Forest

Black Forest is an arcane collection featuring the works of over 50 contemporary photographers, including Roger Ballen, Arthur Tress, Debbie Fleming Caffery, Elijah Gowin, Louviere and Vanessa, Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Irina Ionesco, Julie Blackmon, Joel-Peter Witkin, Gilles Berquet and many other internationally renowned photographers.

In this volume, editor Russell Joslin, long-time publisher of SHOTS magazine, follows in the steps of André Breton (from whom he borrows his title), exploring what he calls “subterranean beauty.” Darkly atmospheric sequences of surrealistic photographs become a metaphor for the unconscious and the mysterious corners of the psyche. Suggesting loose, intuitive relationships between the works of contemporary artists, Joslin creates four visual narratives associated in tone, emotion and formal structure, but allows room for his readers and viewers to render for themselves the hidden, connective layers of meaning.

This compelling collection of unconventional narratives is complimented by the strange and beautiful design of Jeff Louviere, who, along with his wife and collaborator Vanessa Brown, is one of the contributing artists to this dark and engaging photography book.