FACES BEHIND MASKS

Knit Club by Carolyn Drake

TBW BooksSeptember 2021Selected by TANK

Knit Club is the result of American photographer Carolyn Drake’s time spent with a community of women who exist somewhere between a cult of mysteries and a group of friends bound by secrets. Through a series of bewitching portraits and still lifes, Drake upholds the mystery of this community through her thoughtful compositions, often photographing her subjects behind masks or objects, only ever affording the viewer a partial gaze. It is as if the moment of revelation is also a gesture of concealment. With its narrative structure loosely based on William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, Knit Club pulls you into the eerie heart of Southern Gothic.

All images © Carolyn Drake / Magnum Photos / TBW Books