Planetary Realism: Art Against Apocalypse

Josephine Berry’s latest title explores the devastation left in the wake of modernity and how globalisation is revealing a fragile and unfamiliar planet. Surveying a body of planet-facing art, communal practices and activism, this book investigates art’s power to break with capitalist realism and petroleum landscapes, finding new ways to reimagine life on Earth.

The typographic language of the book references both vintage petrol advertising and the language of protest by styling monumental, heavy-weight, condensed lettering for chapter title pages, headers and footnotes.

The main text is set to feel like a road. Each justified paragraph weaves from left to right, meandering across the page, disrupted by contextual imagery, bold footnote and image figure referencing, and a bright pink thread ties the sections together.

Client  

Category  

Author

Josephine Baker

Cover

Softback

Format

155 × 240 mm

Extent

232pp

Binding

Section sewn

Finish

Foil, coloured thread

Typeface

KMR Waldenburg


The cover design takes an untitled collage by Paul Nash for a 1960s Shell motor guide of Dorset, but introducing a lurid, vibrant colour scheme inspired by oil spills, overlayed with semi-transparent foil text to reveal the course halftone screen below.