Stephen Gill, Coming up for air: A Retrospective, 2021

Coinciding with Arnolfini’s major autumn exhibition Coming up for Air: Stephen Gill – A Retrospective (16 October 2021 to 16 January 2022), this enthralling publication encompasses over 40 years of practice (from 1982 to 2021), featuring some of Gill’s first photographs (taken as a child), selected images from Gill’s best-known series but also the lesser-known one’s like: Invisible, Russian Women Smokers and Audio Portraits, and early images of Bristol, where Gill was born.

Published by Gill’s Nobody Books in association with Arnolfini, the book includes a text from Arnolfini’s Director and self-confessed fan, Gary Topp, who reflects back on the fascinating process of working with Gill – underlining his abundant output showcased here across 604 pages – bringing together an exhaustive array of photography and technical approaches, including over 450 colour and 150 black and white plates.

Coming up for Air… creates an invaluable journey through Gill’s extraordinary career, which has seen him described in turn as a ‘documentarist’, ‘anthropologist’ and ‘dazzling visual poet’.