From Campbell Addy to Nadine Ijewere, As We See It celebrates those redefining Black identity

A new book coming from Laurence King Publishing this February will focus on artists redefining Black identity in the art world. It will celebrate the creatives subverting tropes and painting a “richer portrait of the lives of Black people from all corners of the globe”, a release explains. As We See It is written by London-based arts and culture writer Aida Amoako. Inside, you’ll find work from image-makers behind some of the most exciting, challenging and beautiful work in the industry today. Along the way, Aida asks how these artists navigate representation, “a turbulent global socio-political landscape, and a pop cultural landscape that is being forced to acknowledge them”.

From photographs illustrating Black joy and love, to depictions of queer and non-binary identities, you can expect striking visuals from the release. This begins with the cover, an image from the series The Godfather 2020 by Paris-based photographer and stylist Kenny Germé. Tender and captivating, the cover image sees Kenny using oversized styling to highlight the innocence of his young subject. According to the release, the image “references the way Black boys are often presented as much older than they are, especially in police brutality cases”. This speaks to a wider theme in As We See It, with Amoako harnessing imagery to de-centre the white gaze throughout.

In all, 30 image-makers feature in the book. Among them are Campbell Addy, Davey Adésida, Nadine Ijewere, Ronan McKenzie and Lina Iris Viktor. The release adds that through the text, Aida will “explore the concept of Black gaze” and “encourage discourse around representation, diversity, gender and queer identity in the art world”.

Readers can find previous interviews with Campbell Addy and Nadine Ijewere at It’s Nice That. The former dives into Campbell’s 2022 monograph – Feeling Seen – while our 2021 interview with Nadine explored mental health following a career milestone for the artist, becoming the first Black female photographer to shoot a Vogue cover at 26.