Natural LightHardcover, 3 January 2023

A comprehensive insight into the work of the artist spanning 20 years from several different series

J. John Priola's second monograph, features work from twelve different series made over twenty years time and investigates the natural and un-natural world. It includes essays from Rita Bullwinkel, Claire Daigle and a conversation with Alec Soth. There is a beauty and perversity at work in this collection of images. Plants carry stories and offer information about their caretakers, perseverance, and what nature and nurture hold. The images are often portraits and evidence of what was and can no longer be seen. Photography is magic in this way, deceptively acting as a document, yet personal, seen but beyond reach. While there are different formal approaches to image making, the aspirations remain the same. Following the title Natural Light, all images - even seemly studio set ups - are done with natural light, and are in color and black and white. Shifts in scale and layout show the diverse ways to look at our world and how we live in it.