Mayflies
Mayflies by Darren Smith
Mayflies by Darren Smith
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Mayflies celebrates radical self-expression in a collection of studio portraits. For seven years, Amsterdam-based photographer Darren Smith traveled across three continents, capturing moments of radical self-expression and human connection at festivals, spectacles, and cultural gatherings. His work, Mayflies, presents 122 studio portraits of real people in moments of vivid transformation, stripped of background to focus purely on their presence and individuality. Inspired by the mayfly’s short yet brilliant life, Smith’s portraits celebrate those who embrace their identities intensely and briefly.
More about this book
More about this book
“Starting in the summer of 2016, I started travelling to crowded parade streets, joining post-apocalyptic sound camps, getting lost in the labyrinth of winding nightclub corridors, in search of creative souls. The essence of radical self-expression is freedom, vulnerability, and the courage to reveal one’s true self in the most unfiltered way possible. I was inspired to create a lasting legacy of these people in their self-expressed beauty.” —Darren Smith
What first began with Amsterdam’s vibrant night culture has evolved into a once-in-a-lifetime journey into the heart of spectacles around the world. From the swirling dust of the Mojave desert to Paris' underground vogue ballroom scene and far beyond, these photographs depict real people, captured at gatherings where they feel they are fully expressed and celebrating life.
Taking a step away from the party, they gather before the camera against a seamless studio background, their moments of self-expression immortalised in timeless portraits. By isolating each subject, Smith’s photographs highlight the bold vulnerability of the human desire to be seen, celebrated, and connected.
“In my work people would emerge from the crowd, step into the studio space, and we would begin, the heart of the spectacle pulsing around us. The people I captured were participants in something larger—a collective energy shaped by music, movement, and shared experience. Each person who stepped into the studio brought with them a fragment of that collective pulse. From those fragments, from an unscripted chaos, formed the 'decisive moments' I sought.” — Darren Smith
Published December 2024 by Lecturis
280 x 360 mm
208pp, 122 images
Hardback, cloth bound cover
ISBN 978-946226 5332
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Press
"Down to the smallest detail, the mayflies have become what they want to be at that moment [...] The result is a series of compelling and at times surreal portraits that can fire everyone’s imagination." -DE TROUW
"Aalst carnivalists shine in photo book 'Mayflies': It's a world in itself." -HLN Belgium
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from 6 reviewsSo fascinating to see how people present under these circumstances. Absolutely love this study of human expression.
This book is absolutely stunning! The overall quality of the cover, paper, and prints, especially the size, is extremely impressive. The art itself offers an incredible range of subjects from all over the world, and participants in some of the most unique/niche events that could be imagined; I felt inspired to go to these places. The style of bold colors with bold people is a perfect medium. I am also thrilled to have a print for my wall as well. Both are ideal additions to my home.
Mayflies condenses multiple years of journeys to the different, to the cool, to the most interesting of places and people into a singular book. Opening this book is a portal, one that can easily open up conversation with guests when set on my coffee table or simply to reflect, think about places where I'd like to go -- should I experience Vogue or travel to Wasteland or become part of Burning Man? All of this done, framed, and put together in a book that feels in my hand like a "tome". I couldn't be happier with Mayflies and hope there's more to come in the future.
This is an exceptional and intriguing book, recording the ephemeral art of people who become other-worldly for a brief time, often beautiful, sometimes disturbing, always strange and arresting.
The quality and immediacy of the images and production make this book a really wonderful object to spend time with. The layout, binding and paper make for great visual and tactile pleasure. The placement of the text at the end of the book means that the ‘reader’ is not being directed to understand the book in a particular way. I appreciated the insights of Justin Schaffer, which provided a thoughtful perspective but most of all, it’s the mastery of the artist, Darren Smith which makes this a treasure.
Mayflies is a stunning visual journey that captures fleeting moments with incredible depth and emotion. Darren Smith masterfully transforms the ephemeral—a persona in time and place—into something timeless in a beautifully and thoughtfully constructed book.
A visually stunning book that captures those precious moments of humans at play. The title could not be more apt. Like the mayfly, the alter egos of the book’s subjects last but days. These portraits feel precious; capturing never to be repeated moments that celebrate human diversity and difference. When I feel like escaping, I spend time with Mayflies, and remind myself that there is so much more to explore, and to be. Even for just one day.