Text Julian Lucas
Published 12/29/2021 8:30 Am PST

Wow! Where did 2021 go! This has been a year of hesitation due to the uncertainties. I am happy that publishers continued to publish photobooks even though we are all dealing with our stressors. I truly believe photobooks and zines help our mental health as we can escape our realities like a movie.

Anyway enough of that. I want to present to you my list of photobooks for 2021.

Rahim Fortune, I Can’t Stand to See You Cry
Rahim Fortune's I Can’t Stand To See You Cry seems like reminds me stills from a short film the way images strikingly appear popping from the pages. The portrait of a man with an enticing expression acts as an offering of warning before going further. The images just give a hint of the setting, the environment, and the climate. Indoors, is full of nostalgia - at least for me - the focus of the lantern rested on a side table, the tying of the scarf to keep every strand of hair wisp-free, the French armoire, the glass nightstand, the tangled wires that calmly hang are like déjà vu.

Imagery, emotionally driven; the interaction, delicately structured - all define Black life in the South. The house represents not only the setting but also life and how to maintain it.

Will Harris, You Can Call Me Nana
You can call me Nana portrays the struggle of enduring difficult times with an immediate relative who suffers from dementia. A personal documentary of images and ephemera includes a double-sided advertisement of the new home tract. a grocery list. The diamond-cut Victorian doorknob.  the exposed wood frame from the crumbling plaster wall. the image of the veteran definitely takes me back in time.

Fulvio Ventura’s Sagacity
Sagacity is a cohesive body of photographs compiled and archived for 40 years as an open-ended project. Poetically striking on one hand, and intentionality as a matter of fact on the other. Beautifully arranged.

Linda Zhengova, Catharsis, Self Published
Linda Zhengova’s, Catharsis confronts traumatic events. The imagery adds a whole new dimension to photography. The use of vibrant and hypnotic colors against the human figure is exceptional. In contrast, the artwork defines emotions that appear to be playful and gives clues of an event of the past. 

Void Tokyo, Zine
Void Tokyo VOL 7 2021 presents their zine’s newest edition with an array of breathtaking images from 14 superb photographers, highlighting the culture and its response to a widespread pandemic that has, with great force, affected daily life. It’s an ongoing investigation with various photographers each with their own distinct perspective.

In this fast-evolving environment, our metropolises continue to expand and advance or retreat. It’s a shift or an invasion of new definitions of culture or class. Some see it as a step in the right direction - however, current global issues have created a slew of unexpected challenges, a step forward or removal of culture has both slowed down or speeded up.

Tim Carpenter and Nathan Pearce, South of Chicago
South of Chicago is about rural landscape and space. Unmanicured brush, tractor tracks, and the open road to land, acres of land for miles, and life that exists outside of the metropolitan city of Chicago.

Julian Lucas, is the founder and owner of Mirrored Society Books. Julian is also a fine art photographer, and documentary photographer. Julian also works as a housing specialist which, includes linking unhoused individuals to housing.