Look Inside
Which art books, prints and posters are available by and about this artist? Here is a sample of items of interest to a typical collector:
Signature is about 10 pages into the book on a slip affixed onto the page's center.
A self-published zine, SHOOT was produced by photographer Paul Mpagi Sepuya from 2005 to 2008. Each of the zine's issues was an experiment by the artist in conceiving of an extended portrait, using contact sheets, outtakes and text. The subjects were Sepuya's friends, muses and collaborators. Like many zines made at the time, these were photocopied on the job and at various copying centers, and the magazine retains much of the artist's hand as well as the idiosyncratic hallmarks of the copy machine that have come to define queer zines since the 1970s. This book brings together, for the first time, all seven issues of the magazine, which are highly sought-after due to the scarcity of the originals today.
These early publications by Sepuya showcased the photographic practice that the artist has become known for over the last two decades. Glimpses of the artist can be found throughout the portraits in SHOOT (including one issue devoted to his own self-portrait), as can the mechanics of photography, drawing a line from this early work to his renowned Dark Room series and ongoing portrait-based practice.
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Paul Mpagi Sepuya (b. 1982, San Bernardino, California) is an influential American photographer whose work thoughtfully interrogates portraiture, identity, intimacy, and representation. Known for his innovative studio-based practice, Sepuya uses mirrors, drapery, fragmented images, and the presence of the camera itself to reveal and disrupt the traditional photographic process.
Through his distinctive compositions, Sepuya explores themes of queer intimacy, Blackness, visibility, and the dynamics between artist, subject, and viewer. His photographs are layered, complex, and often self-referential, questioning and reconfiguring traditional ideas around gaze, authorship, and power in image-making.
Sepuya’s work has been exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally, appearing in esteemed institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Biennial. He is widely regarded as a prominent voice in contemporary photography, celebrated for pushing the boundaries of portraiture and redefining how identity and intimacy can be expressed and understood through the photographic medium.
