PHOTOBOOKS
Occupying Massachusetts
Layers of History on Indigenous Land
Occupying Massachusetts: Layers of History on Indigenous Land is an art book which engages with history. Featuring photos of contemporary structures and ancient sites found in rural Massachusetts, the book points to hidden stories in the landscape, with emphasis on the long presence of Indigenous people and the waves of settlement by others that began in the 1600s and continue today.
An additional set of photographs of historical markers describe early relations between English settlers and Indigenous people from diverse points of view. Seen in relation to each other, the photographs of structures and markers create a meditation on the varied meanings of “home” and “settlement”, the telling, twisting or suppression of histories, and the ongoing ways that humans interact with land.
Published in 2022 by George F. Thompson Publishing and designed by David Skolkin, the book features 65 color photographs and one original map. Texts by Indigenous activist David Brule and writer Suzanne Gardinier offer important additional perspectives on US history.
To purchase this book, contact your favorite bookstore or order directly here.
“This is a striking composition of words and images, lending a gleam of light into long stories that linger on the periphery. They’re always there, next to us, but are seldom seen full frontal - it’s more, rather, that they are sensed. But they are persistent and they are everywhere. These are the other realities with which the dominant narratives have a hard time engaging. They don’t fit our learned/taught expectations, or perhaps our “acceptations.” Matthews’ juxtapositions enable the clarity that can come when, for example, you can see a hazy star more distinctly by looking next to it, rather than directly at it.”
Present Moments
Published in 2020, Present Moments is a book of photographic portraits which investigate the passage of time and human mortality. Within its pages, photographs made over a period of more than forty years interact with each other. Many of the portraits feature backdrops made from newspaper contemporary to the moment of the photograph. Designed by Shai Zauderer and printed by the Studley Press, the book combines 42 black and white images with texts by novelist Ruth Ozeki and poet Polina Barskova.
To order this book, please email your inquiries here.
“What a lovely, lovely book: calm, focused, deeply moving - and haunting.”
“There is something mysterious in these chronicling portraits, and as one can’t stop looking, an unease settles in. Some portrait juxtapositions are quite saddening, even alarming; some are unforgettable.”
“There were so many thoughts that came to mind as I went back many times to page through this book. At the end of the day, ‘profound’ was, I think, the word that I was left with.”