An almost mystical tale, riding on the tradition of the so-called Southern Gothic (a grotesque literary genre from the southern United States). Carolyn Drake’s latest book stems from her collaboration with a mysterious group of women with the intentionally vague name of ” Knit Club “. It’s unclear what kind of group this is: it looks like a intersection between a gang, some sort of cult, and a group of friends bound by secrets that only they share.
The book follows a narrative structure reminiscent of Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying; it lacks a single point of view, replaced here by the various voices that seem to have almost no filter. It is clear that the photographs are the result of a collaborative project, an alchemical game between the author and the women of the club.
Drake uses color masterfully to set the mood, in an undeniable tension between the real and the supernatural. The result is anything but grotesque, it is vital: a community that lives outside the gaze and control of men. A group of women, mothers, children, who with the help of masks immerse themselves in an atmosphere of mystery to create a reality that only belongs to them.
After three critically acclaimed self-published books – Two Rivers (2013), Wild Pigeon (2014) and Internat (2017) – Knit Club is the first book Drake has released with a publisher. Drake received a Guggenheim Fellowship, among many other awards, and became a member of Magnum Photos in 2019.
€ 50,00
