GOSEE BOOK TIP : ‘Fugue’ by Lydia Goldblatt – sensitive photographs about becoming and losing a mother, created over the course of four years (GOST Books)
‘Fugue’ by Lydia Goldblatt, which was published in June 2024 at GOST Books, is a poignant exploration of love, grief, motherhood, and the complex interplay between intimacy and distance. Through a combination of photographs and written narratives, Goldblatt focuses on domestic life over the course of four years.
When Goldblatt became a mother, she found herself unable to take photos. However, after her own mother died, she began to photograph again, both at home and in the city around her. “I wanted to be honest about what I was struggling with, about the feelings of claustrophobia and rage, as much as intimacy and love. These are feelings so often hidden by mothers, so often silenced as unacceptable,” says Goldblatt.
The book itself is a work of art: The cover, adorned in pink with red endpapers, is a deliberate choice by Goldblatt to evoke a sense of corporeality. It features the final bars of Johann Sebastian Bach’s unfinished ‘Fugue’, who wrote The Art of Fugue unfinished because he died. Goldblatt explains: “I like the notes floating untethered.”
“Photographing became a lifeline, a way of weaving past through present. Through my pictures and writing, I was able to think about the transformations that accompany motherhood and loss. And I could challenge the archetypes and taboos of motherhood. Beyond mothering, I have been able to explore a wider sense of caregiving through the relationships my partner holds with our children, those they hold with each other, and through the writing that spans generations. I hope that this work gives voice to a story that is both individual and collective,” says Goldblatt.
The photographs from ‘Fugue’ were also exhibited from 16 through 19 May 2024 by the Robert Morat Gallery as part of Photo London.
Lydia Goldblatt, a British photographic artist based in London, has exhibited her work in in renowned galleries and museums worldwide. Her first book ‘Still Here’ is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum National Art Library, and her work is held in numerous public and private collections including the National Portrait Gallery and The Women’s Library, London. Goldblatt received the GRAIN Projects Artist Commission in 2020 to develop Fugue, and received an award for her portrait from the series in the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
‘Fugue’ is a 192-page, hardcover book with 120 illustrations, available at GOST Books.
CREDITS
Photographer From Fugue © Lydia Goldblatt
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