Californian-born photographer Stefan Ruiz’s first monograph compiles five years’ worth of portraits and unflinching views of the landscapes we occupy. His work is delicate and sparse, his subjects, from every strata of society, warily eyeing the camera, unwilling or unable to disguise their inner thoughts for the lens. They include smiling Miss Rodeos, masked wrestlers, preening Mexican soap stars, inmates of a Cuban asylum and his own family, all afforded the same careful attention. A former creative director of Colors, Ruiz has taught art at San Quentin Prison and exhibited around the world. His experiences of the shoots are revealed in fascinating captions at the back of the book.
People is available in a special, boxed edition of 88 copies, each with a different 11in x 14in C-type print of a photograph featured in the book, signed and numbered 1/1 by Ruiz. For a chance to win a special edition, worth £300, click here.
Friday 21 November 2008
