Why Faces Now? This is the question posed by Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer in the exhibition at Almine Rech Gallery in New York and Gstaad. As she writes: In recent years, the surgeon general diagnosed a national epidemic of loneliness, isolation, and disconnection doing serious damage to individual and societal health. The professionally recommended remedy is, first and foremost, quality time in front of another person, engaging face to face. At the same time, faces and our relationship to them are increasingly undergoing a strange sea change, a transformational trip through the uncanny valley of AI, deep fakes, virtual reality, digital filters, hormone therapies, and the latest in cosmetic procedures.

To complement her essay within the catalog, I undertook a visual research project, gathering images that trace the history of our relationship with faces. Primarily Western-centric, this exploration underscores our often problematic fascination with the face – rooted in eugenicist theories and the technological abuses of its control — while also revealing the spiritual quest to unravel its mysteries, its virtual transformations, and the social struggles to reclaim it.

The book features a clear structure and a systematic organization. Each section (text, works, exhibition views, details and index) has its own independent page numbering system. To emphasize this structure, we incorporated the canvas — used for the hard cover — as a four-page signature that wraps around the 16-page signatures of each section. This design choice highlights what forms the « face » of the book: the cover and the canvas, akin to the pores of its skin. Additionally, the alternation between coated and uncoated paper further accentuates this pronounced rhythm. Design with Guillaume Rolland.