Last Updated on 06/20/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
If you’re into story-driven photography projects, “Night of the Hunted” is a photobook you might want to support on Kickstarter
If a picture is worth a thousand words, here’s a book that tells not one, but three fascinating stories! Titled Night of the Hunted, the photobook is comprised of three southern gothic stories set in 1960s’ America. If you’re a fan of conceptual photography projects with a clear and compelling narrative, you can grab this photobook and show your support on Kickstarter.
Night of the Hunted is the second book of Brighton-based Matt Henry, who has found inspiration in the politics and culture of America in the 60s and how they relate to the contemporary world. He explores this topic by creating fictional scenes with set builds and dressed locations in the UK and USA. To ensure an accurate depiction and a solid narrative, he crafts a storyboard for each project and features a cast of actors that he himself styles and directs.
Matt has spent the last two years in America’s Deep South — Louisiana, Texas, and Georgia — to craft three fictional, southern gothic stories for this second book. All the stories showcase his take on the American history of the mid-1960s, and have drawn inspiration from the Southern Gothic literary genre itself.
For those unfamiliar to Southern Gothic literature, Matt has a clear and concise description. “Southern Gothic literature came out of the collapse of the American South after the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. It twinned a dark romanticism with a social critique that explored grotesque characters, often in warped rural communities beset by poverty, alienation, racial tension, and violence. It was made popular by twentieth century writers like Flannery O’ Connor, Carson McCullers, and William Faulkner. Contemporary visual examples include True Detective and True Blood.”
Matt’s preview on his Kickstarter campaign shows some really striking imagery, a testament to his attention to all the details that make a compelling visual story — and what makes Night of the Hunted a worthy addition to our photobook collection. The 180-paged book will have 78 photos, an essay, and three short stories. It’s set to launch in September alongside a two-month solo show in Polka Gallery in Paris.
Ready to show your support for Matt’s project? He still has a long way to get funded, so head to the Night of the Hunted Kickstarter campaign and pledge £40 (about $53) to get a signed copy of this stunning photobook!
Images from the Kickstarter campaign by Matt Henry.