the london based online photo mag has just published its 7th issue. it’s an interesting and unusual website. it’s run like a print periodical rather than a website in that it comes out fully formed like a real print mag. on a newstand. run by ian teh and others, deep sleep aims to showcase the best of contemporary london photography from the personal portfolios of contributors. anyone can submit work for publication, but it must be based around a pre-announced theme.
the current theme is ‘illusion’ and presents the work of a number of very disparate young photographers. shadow play the work of marc ferrante, presents spooky images of x‑ray hands in shadow theatre poses. paula mccartney places craft store songbirds in (un) natural settings. the images of billy maynard play with gender trans-sexual identity and ambiguity. nathalie daoust presents images of a chairman mao impersonator in china.
in the editorial the publishers state that with all the doom and gloom around, they had decided to do something positive and optimistic. the declaration is somewhat belied by the image chosen for the cover — a skeletal x‑ray of crossed hands.
there’s some fascinating work here, not least, that of vincent j. stoker — a series of images, collectively entitled heterotopia which explore the relentless and slow reclamation of humanity’s cultural and architectural vanities by the physical forces of nature, gravity and time.
highly recommended