You Won’t Be With Me Tomorrow

Published in 2014 You Won’t Be With Me Tomorrow is a sequel to the narrative Harvey Benge developed in his 2013 book, Some Things You Should Have Told Me.

Both bookworks deal with the pain of relationship, the seeming inevitability of separation and the mistrust that is its consequence. Women drift, lost and hostile, throughout the pages – they’re masked or veiled; they stare from behind bars – sometimes metal, sometimes frail as gauze, or turn away, eyes averted. They are beautiful but isolated – the time for reconciliation has long passed. This isolation is reinforced by a sense of eroticised cruelty – And yet…within Benge’s work, there is always unexpected beauty. Hope even. It’s as if Benge, while chronicling the pain of connection, also suggests subtle ways forward: a wooden X beneath a bush may mean stop; it may also be a kiss.

New Zealander, Harvey Benge works in Auckland and Paris. Well known for his many photobooks, he has also exhibited his work extensively in both public and private galleries in Britain, throughout Europe, and in New Zealand.

harveybenge.com
harveybenge.blogspot.com