--- description: An exclusive look at MONO, a new publication on the hunt for the most exciting black and white photographers in the world. LightBox looks at this year's winners, along with the curators' selection of more established artists. title: The Search for the Best New Black-and-White Photographers image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt24d4f4434e09c6f8/69879d56f887dc4ee2e8bdc4/sofia-lopez-mac3b1an.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Search for the Best New Black-and-White Photographers  by [Paul Moakley](/author/paul-moakley/)  ## Paul Moakley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 2, 2012 8:00 AM CUT  From the series Anonymous by Sofía López Mañán, one of the eight finalists selected for MONO. You can see more of her work here. From the series Anonymous by Sofía López Mañán, one of the eight finalists selected for MONO. You can see more of her work here.Sofía López Mañán  by [Paul Moakley](/author/paul-moakley/)  ## Paul Moakley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 2, 2012 8:00 AM CUT Last December, Gomma publishers—a small imprint in London with a magazine by the same name, or what founder Luca Desienna calls a “bijou” publishing house—set out to find the most exciting new talent working in black and white photography today. To begin the process they assembled an international panel of experts and curators from around the world that included Christian Caujolle, Yasmina Reggad, Peggy Sue Amison, Tom Griggs, Wayne Ford, Jörg Colberg and John Matkowsky to create a new publication called MONO. The fundamental idea for the new publication was to expose emerging talent to a wider audience by publishing them alongside more established artists pushing the boundaries of the medium, such as Roger Ballen, Daido Moryiama, Anders Petersen, Trent Parke and many others. “Gomma was formed in 2004 by four friends and artists aspiring to create a new publishing space for photographers,” says Desienna. “Our major inspirations were the influential Japanese magazine _Provoke from 1968_ and _Permanent Food_ by Maurizio Cattelan. Since the first days of Gomma we’ve been always publishing black and white photography—it is and always will be one of the most extraordinary art forms that enables us to document the world we live in … and also what is beyond it or underneath it.” This year’s winners of the MONO open call for entries are: Daisuke Yokota, Maki, Tricia Lawless Murray, Francesco Merlini, Jan von Holleben, Jukka-pekka Jalovaara, Sofia Lopez Mañan and Stephane C. Their work will be featured in the first edition of MONO to be released this fall. Desienna says there has been a renaissance among the image makers working in black and white. “With the advent of digital photography, taking pictures has become sort of more accessible for everyone,” he says. “While black and white photography, which is often associated with analogue photography, has become rarer and rarer. Agfa collapsed, and films and chemicals started disappearing, so as it happens with anything that gets near to extinction, it just becomes more valuable.” At the same time, Desienna says great new digital, black-and-white photography has added to the exquisite and timeless world that monochrome images create. “We don’t see the world in black and white so this is probably why we are so attracted to it,” he says. “In addition I believe that black-and-white photography has the capability to show the inner moods of the photographers better than colors do.” _For more information visit_ [_Gomma Books_](http://www.gommabooks.com/mono/ "undefined") _and check out_ [_Gomma Magazine_](http://www.gommamag.com "undefined") _online._  From the series Anonymous by Sofía López Mañán, one of the eight finalists selected for MONO. You can see more of her work here. Sofía López Mañán  From the series Paris Veiled by Francesco Merlini, one of the eight finalists selected for MONO. You can see more of his work here. Francesco Merlini  From an untitled series by Stephane C., one of the eight finalists selected for MONO. You can see more of his work here. Stephane C.  From the series Site 2011 by Daisuke Yokota, one of the eight finalists selected for MONO. You can see more of the work here. Daisuke Yokota  #23, from the series Snowbed, 2011 by Jan Von Holleben, one of the eight finalists selected for MONO. You can see more of her work here. Jan Von Holleben  From the series The Old One Two by Devin Yalkin, one of the featured photographers in MONO. You can see more of his work here. Devin Yalkin  From the series Acoustic Movements.by Devin Yalkin, one of the featured photographers in MONO. You can see more of his work here. Devin Yalkin  Untitled work from the series Placebo, 2011 Marco Vernaschi, one of the featured photographers in MONO. You can see more of his work here. Marco Vernaschi  Untitled work from the series Placebo, 2011 Marco Vernaschi, one of the featured photographers in MONO. You can see more of his work here. Marco Vernaschi  Untitled work from the series Placebo, 2011 Marco Vernaschi, one of the featured photographers in MONO. You can see more of his work here. Marco Vernaschi  Roar, 2002 by Roger Ballen, who is one of the more established talents MONO will be featuring alongside the winners. Courtesy Roger Ballen  Head Inside Shirt, 2001 by Roger Ballen. Courtesy Roger Ballen  Mimicry, 2005 by Roger Ballen. Courtesy Roger Ballen  From the series Down In The Hole, by Victor Cobo, one of the featured photographers in MONO. You can see more of his work here. Victor Cobo  From the series Home, Copenhagen by Jacob Aue Sobol, one of the more established talents MONO will be featuring alongside the winners. Jacob Aue Sobol—Magnum  Australia, Outback Queensland, 2004 from the series Minutes to Midnight. Parke is another one of the more established talents MONO will be featuring alongside the winners. Trent Parke—Magnum ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/39622/the-search-for-the-best-new-black-and-white-photographers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/39622/the-search-for-the-best-new-black-and-white-photographers/"},"headline":"The Search for the Best New Black-and-White Photographers","datePublished":"2012-04-02T08:00:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:42:00.843Z","description":"An exclusive look at MONO, a new publication on the hunt for the most exciting black and white photographers in the world. 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