The most wide-ranging and up-to-date volume available on the enigmatic and controversial graffiti artist, this deeply researched and highly personal tribute explores how Banksy continues to defy accepted wisdom about artistic success, growing only more famous and powerful even as he sticks to his anti-establishment platform and to his mission to give a voice to the voiceless. Accompanied by stunning full-page, full-color reproductions and photographs of works in situ-including many that have been lost to time -photographer and street art expert Alessandra Mattanza's impassioned and informed text follows Banksy's career trajectory from creator of message-laden stencils on London's city walls to a sought-after champion of human and environmental rights. She investigates many of the key images that populate Banksy's work-animals, children, historic figures, balloons, cartoon characters, police officers, and others. She shows how Banksy's oeuvre has expanded beyond graffiti and stenciling and how his art has helped support his activism in a variety of causes-from calls for peace in the Middle East to the preservation of the natural environment. Best of all she helps readers make sense of the rather unusual path Banksy has chosen-an artist who uses his global platform to raise awareness about the underserved, rather than to his own celebrity. Readers will come away with a new understanding of how Banksy helped transform an illegal act of criminal damage into a high art form, and how, by ridiculing institutionalized art, he has achieved enormous fame within those very institutions.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 240

Dimensions: 230 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 28-02-2022

Capturing fleeting natural impressions played a central role in the art of Claude Monet. He deeply engaged with the landscape and light of different places, from the metropolis of Paris to the Seine villages of Argenteuil and Giverny. This lavishly illustrated new paperback edition explores the development of Monet's art from the 1850s to the 1920s, focusing on the places, both at home and on his frequent travel, from which he drew inspiration for his painting. In addition, the book traces the critical shift in Monet's art that occurred when he began to focus on series of the same subjects such as haystacks, poplars, and the water lilies and pond at his meticulously designed garden in Giverny. Insightful and revealing, the book deepens our appreciation of Monet's art and allows us to experience anew his gift for bringing the natural world to life.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 280

Dimensions: 240 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 30-11-2021

A rocky coast along the Sea of Japan; an immense plain of rice fields in the snow; Mount Fuji towering over misty wooded hills; silent temples devoid of people but brimming with Buddhist deities; a Torii gate mysteriously emerging from moving clouds and water-these are a few images from this remarkable collection of photographs by Michael Kenna, whose black-and-white work is highly renowned. Forms of Japan, brilliantly designed by Yvonne Meyer-Lohr, is organized into chapters simply titled, "Sea," "Land," "Trees," "Spirit," and "Sky." The quietly evocative photographs, often paired with classic haiku poems of Basho, Buson, Issa and others, provide a contemplative portrait of a country better-known for its energy and industry. Gorgeously reproduced to convey the enormous subtleties that exist in Michael Kenna's traditional black-and-white silver prints, the photographs in this book include both well-known and previously unpublished images from all corners of Japan: Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Okinawa and Shikoku.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 304

Dimensions: 290 x 280 mm

Publication Date: 22-02-2022

Tattoos, perhaps one of the oldest forms of communication or body art, have had and still have different meanings. From healing powers to the identification of criminals, through myths and different beliefs or simply as a form of identification and affirmation of group belonging, tattoos are one of the most characteristic means of expression associated with sailors, soldiers, organized crime, gangs or urban tribes, as well as being a form of body adornment and expression of a lifestyle, philosophy or many people's beliefs. By way of a clear, insightful text, this publication unveils the meaning of the tattoos that have lived on through the passage of time and that, even today, explain a lot about the person who wears them. After all, a tattoo is much more than a drawing on the skin; it's a declaration of intent. From drawings that date back to the dawn of civilization to contemporary designs, each tattoo has a hidden story that this book is eager to reveal.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 260

Dimensions: 150 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 15-02-2022

Traveling is synonymous with joy, fun, laughter, knowledge... Let yourself be carried away by the magic of illustrated maps created to show unique details of each place such as its cuisine, music and dance, traditions, architecture, sports, art... Because we believe that traveling is one of the best things we can do! More than 100 illustrated maps from all over the world.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 144

Dimensions: 230 x 170 mm

Publication Date: 30-11-2021

Apocrypha: The Maps of Roger Mortimer looks at the distinctive and singular painting practice of Roger Mortimer. Through his enigmatic and surreal juxtaposition of medieval imagery on current marine charts from around Aotearoa, Mortimer presents metaphorical, timeless and universal stories of navigation and transformation, drawing on 15th century illustrated manuscripts of the famous poem The Divine Comedy by the Italian poet Dante. This important and beautiful new book – with 160 pages, more than 50 images (some on double page spreads) and seven texts including a conversation with the artist – examines 12 years of Mortimer’s map paintings. The editors say they hope the book will contribute to a discussion, not simply around the nature and place of New Zealand art and its complex relationship to its European origins, but also around contemporary Pākehā cultural identity and its relationship to Te Ao Māori. As art historian Leonard Bell writes in his essay in the book, Mortimer’s pictorial mappings are productively improbable, outside the predictable and formulaic, just as the most intriguing contemporary art is.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 160

Dimensions: 195 x 295 mm

Publication Date: 01-01-2022

Where the Mediterranean diet meets design: this cookbook feeds your taste buds, your eyes, and your joie de vivre. Hilltop villages, pristine coves, lavender, vineyards, and a balmy sun. The smell of herbs in the air. Drawn-out apéritifs on terraces. Provence is a feast for the senses that epitomises the French art of slow living. At the heart of it, there is always a table. In this book, cook Pauline Chardin shares her delicious, healthy, and—best of all—easy recipes. Using seasonal fruit and veg from her local market and her garden, Chardin’s cuisine is rooted in the Med, yet flavored by her travels around the world. This is more than just a cookbook. With a keen sense for design, Chardin knows that the eye takes the first bite. A Spoonful of Sun lavishes us with aesthetic pleasures too, taking us around the house Chardin designed for herself, into the irresistible surrounds of her Provençal home, and back to what matters most: the food on the table.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 256

Dimensions: 240 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 31-03-2022

Celebrating the centenary and legacy of Charley Harper, a master of mid-century American illustration. Ladybugs, dogs, owls, otters: Charley Harper’s whimsical illustrations are more than a source of delight. With a never-ending curio-sity for the world, especially for wildlife and flora, Harper developed a unique style that influenced a whole generation of artists and designers. His œuvre is, simply, synonymous with mid-century modernism. Wild Life is a vast collection of works originally created as posters, magazine covers, murals, and others. Compiled by illustration expert Margaret Rhodes and the artist’s son, Brett Harper, this definitive monograph offers a rare glimpse into Charley’s private and creative universe. Telling the story of his life and of his masterpieces, Wild Life is essential for enthusiasts of the American master and for those interested in mid-century visual culture.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 245 x 330 mm

Publication Date: 31-03-2022

The golden era of industrial design that revolutionized home appliances. The fascinating world of product design that emerged between the 1960s and 1980s sym-bolized the birth of a new age and human behavior. From coffee grinders to fondue sets to hairdryers, each home appliance was in-tended to help in the daily household rou-tines—but they were also masterpieces of style. Based on Jaro Gielens’s collection, one of the largest in the world, Soft Electronics explores a nostalgic and unique set of prod-ucts from a very distinct time for design. Each object possesses a sense of longevity, quality, and innovation—one that has been hard to match since manufacturing was moved overseas and planned obsolescence redefined our relationship with electronic goods. Soft Electronics pays homage to an iconic era of design.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 288

Dimensions: 210 x 260 mm

Publication Date: 31-03-2022

Whether it be Cosplay, Rockabilly, HipHop or Gothic: when the Japanese immerse a subculture, they do it like no other. For the Otaku, their passion is their life, and it pervades every aspect. From cosplayers and colourful anime-covered vehicles, to hotrodders and leather-clad rockabillies: sub-cultures in Japan are as varied as they are fascinating. Delving into this world of passions, The Obsessed reveals the all- consuming approach that many people take to their hobbies and lifestyle choices. With dazzling photography and background information, this book show-cases a panoply of scenes and people that make up Japan’s many countercultural groups.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 240

Dimensions: 210 x 260 mm

Publication Date: 31-03-2022