shashasha

“Coming Up For Air” forms a large-scale retrospective in book form of Stephen Gill’s past forty years as an artist. Published to coincide with the eponymous exhibition at Arnolfini (October ’21–January ’22), “Coming Up For Air” comprises photographs from over 50 different series, starting with some of Gill’s earliest photographs taken when he was a still a child and including best-known works such as The Pillar, Hackney Flowers and Talking to Ants as well as lesser known series like Audio Portraits, Outside In, Audience and Please Notify The Sun, the most recent series in the book.

On more than 600 pages and featuring more than 450 color and 150 black-and-white photographs, “Coming Up For Air” pays tribute to the wealth of ideas, the sheer amount of photographic approaches and the versatility and the large span of Gill’s work. Thanks to the chronological order of the series, the reader is able to follow Gill’s artistic development and the changes in his practice. An extensive essay by Arnolfini director Gary Topp as well as information regarding each series, a chronological overview, and a list of recommended articles about Gill’s work provide further context (all texts included in English).

Each copy of “Coming Up For Air” sold on shashasha includes a card signed by the artist during his visit to Tokyo in April 2022.

Please be aware that there is notable damage to the book’s cover, back cover and corners. For more information please see the respective photographs in the image gallery above.