Photograph what you know. This has long been good advice, but it has never been more relevant than in 2020. COVID-19 has had an enormous impact, not only on how we work and travel, but also on how we think and feel. As we enter this time of stronger borders and living local, we thought it would be comforting to do an issue featuring photographers that have been inspired by their families, their Then & Now
In BJP’s first issue of 2021, themed Then & Now, it seems fitting to start the year by looking back. In this edition, we reflect upon the extraordinary events of 2020, but also further back in history, and consider their impact and meaning to our present day. Among the main features; Marisol Mendez denounces the colonial gaze with passionate portraits of Bolivian women, Rafal Milach ruminates on the symbolism of walls throughout the century, Sasha Phyars-Burgess follows generations of families living in the African Diaspora, and Jörg Colberg warns of the dangers of the rise of the far-right in Germany.
The issue also highlights the work of Kalpesh Lathigra, Camila Falquez, Deanna Templeton and Max Ernst Stockburger, among many others. Elsewhere, we visit Brendan Barry’s vibrant studio, preview of the expansive Format Festival and ask, what photography and art spaces do better to truly support and represent the community they serve?
-
28 × 21 cm, Softover, 2021,
