asia issue 01 (Cover by Nigel Shafran)

The inaugural issue of asia, a French photography magazine dedicated to the visual cultures and lived realities of Asia.

Published annually, asia sets out to portray Asia as a vast and diverse terrain through a multiplicity of perspectives, bringing together the viewpoints of those who live there with the gazes of travellers and migrants. The first issue features ten photographers working across different parts of the world, each contributing a distinct image of Asia. Martin Parr captures the mingling of everyday life and festivity in India with his characteristic wit; Jungjin Lee renders the natural landscape of Jeju Island in tones reminiscent of ink painting; Farah Al Qasimi turns her attention to Dubai’s vast Dragon Mart, lightly tracing the entanglements of globalisation and consumer culture. Alec Soth contributes an unpublished thirty-two-page sequence based on a seven-day journey through Hokkaido with a woman with whom language could scarcely be shared, while Nigel Shafran quietly observes the ordinary rhythms of daily life in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Through staged and humorous constructions of masculine figures in Asian society, Xiaopeng Yuan reflects on contemporary identity.

The issue also includes Sarker Protick’s long-term observations of Bengal, a region shaped by both development and pain; Paris-based Ryu Ika’s layered and dreamlike evocations of memory between mother and child in Inner Mongolia; and Ece Gökalp’s research into the Latmos Mountains, transformed by mining, which reconsiders the fading relationship between nature and civilisation. Closing the issue is a contribution by Kanazawa-based photographer Yukihito Kono, who turns his camera toward the everyday life of his bookshop and gallery, IACK. Edited and published by Ko Ueoka, with art direction and design by Menghan Li, the magazine is composed entirely of photographs made across Asia and aims, over time, to build a rich visual archive of the region’s many images. At IACK, one of the settings featured in the issue, a special edition with a postcard attached to the cover is also available.

Cover by Nigel Shafran.

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Title: asia issue 01
Artist: Martin Parr / Jungjin Lee / Farah Al Qasimi / Alec Soth / Nigel Shafran / Xiaopeng Yuan / Sarker Protick / Ryu Ika / Ece Gökalp / Yukihito Kono
Publisher: asia publication, 2025
Editor: Ko Ueoka
Art direction / design: Menghan Li
Format: Softcover, thread-sewn
Size: 270 × 200 mm
Pages: 280
ISBN: 979-10-415-7621-0