Ralph Gibson’s Déjà-Vu, published in 1973, is an exploration of perception and abstraction through high-contrast black and white photography, forming part of his Black Trilogy, following The Somnambulist (1970) and preceding Days at Sea (1974). At this stage of his career, Gibson had already established Lustrum Press, a publishing house dedicated to photographic books as autonomous works of art, marking a departure from the prevailing trends in photography. Déjà-Vu coincided with the rise of conceptual art, the counterculture movement, and an increasing emphasis on personal expression in artistic practices. Gibson’s work eschewed the traditional narrative frameworks of photojournalism in favor of a subjective, introspective approach, drawing influence from surrealism, semiology, and European philosophy.
Déjà-Vu revolves around themes of subjectivity, abstraction, and the photographic frame’s role in constructing meaning. Gibson emphasizes perception as the core subject, rejecting explicit storytelling in favor of an open-ended narrative that invites interpretation. His approach to framing and cropping enhances abstraction, reducing recognizable subjects to graphic elements of shape, texture, and contrast. Inspired by cinematic techniques, particularly those from Hollywood’s golden age, Gibson employs deep shadows and illuminated highlights to sculpt the photographic space, heightening the surreal and enigmatic atmosphere of his images.
Technically, Gibson relied on a compact camera with a 50mm lens as his main choice, allowing him to maintain consistency in perspective and depth. His commitment to the darkroom process was fundamental to his artistic practice; he meticulously controlled the tonal range of his prints, pushing deep blacks to create a rich visual density.
First issued by Lustrum Press (1973), Déjà-Vu has been sustained in the public eye through major showings of the Black Trilogy—Pavillon Populaire, Montpellier (2017); Gibson|Goeun Museum of Photography, Busan (2022–23); and the retrospective Secret of Light, Deichtorhallen Hamburg (2023)—with individual prints regularly circulating through gallery exhibitions (e.g., Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York). A widely noted 2018 omnibus reissue of the trilogy by the University of Texas Press further consolidated the book’s standing, and prints from the series now reside in leading museum collections.
