Belated Auckland Book Launch &

Remembering Harvey Benge

27th July 2021 5:30pm

You are invited to the Auckland launch of

..... and then there were none

Harvey Benge
Jon Carapiet
Lloyd Jones
Haru Sameshima
Stu Sontier

at Strange Goods
281 Karangahape Road, Auckland

27 July also marks the anniversary of the birthday of the late Harvey Benge.

Harvey's photobooks are internationally known, but one of his last projects was a collaboration with writer Lloyd Jones, and Auckland-based photographers Haru Sameshima, Stuart Sontier and Jon Carapiet.

The themes and format of .....and then there were none evolved over two years of working together and the book was published by Rim Books, February 2020, after Harvey's passing in October 2019. It was launched in Wellington, days before the Covid lock-down, and the planned Auckland launch was postponed, till now.

The Auckland launch at Strange Goods will include acknowledgements of Harvey's family, a background on the book's collaborative process by Jon Carapiet, and a toast raised to Harvey by all present.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Developed over two years with regular meetings indulgent in wine and home-made cheese as excuses for friendship and banter, . . . . . and then there were none grew from conversations and arguments about mortality, our technologically mired existence and the degradation of the environment. Collaborative in a real sense, this book breaks out of conventional authorship based story-telling, to play out their anxieties and doubts about the world they see, as one voice.

The nod to mortality echoing through the book is rendered stark by the death of Harvey Benge while the book was being printed – adding a sense of urgency to the title of the book - not just for the remaining collaborators, but for us all.

This is the last book in which the late Benge had his hand – and the launch pays tribute to his substantial contribution to the genre.

Published by Rim Books

The book was nominated as one of the BEST ANTIPODEAN PHOTOBOOKS 2020, by Photobooks in Australia + New Zealand website.