Carrie Mae Weems’s new photobook The Heart of the Matter offers an expansive journey through the artistic, intellectual, and spiritual pathways that have shaped one of the most influential figures in contemporary art. Rather than presenting a linear retrospective, the publication weaves together decades of work to reveal how Weems continues to question the structures that govern history, identity, and collective memory. It is a portrait of an artist who has spent her life confronting silence and illuminating the lives of those pushed to the margins.
Organized around major bodies of work, the book revisits foundational series such as Family Pictures and Stories, where Weems first began to merge photography with storytelling, anchoring her practice in personal and communal histories. Later projects, including The Kitchen Table Series and From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried, deepen her investigation into representation, power, and the enduring legacy of racial violence. These landmark works are presented alongside her recent explorations of the Black church, a subject through which she reflects on resilience, spirituality, and the spaces where hope survives.
What distinguishes this monograph is the presence of Weems’s own reflections—philosophical, intimate, and at times meditative—guiding readers through the emotional and ethical terrain of her practice. Her voice becomes a companion to the images, revealing how art can serve both as witness and as healing. Newly commissioned essays by scholars and thinkers further contextualize the breadth of her career, emphasizing her profound impact on contemporary visual culture.
Copublished by Aperture and Allemandi Editore, The Heart of the Matter coincides with a major exhibition at Gallerie d’Italia in Turin, opening in April 2025. Together, the book and exhibition reaffirm Weems’s enduring commitment to truth-telling and her belief in the transformative power of art. Over four decades, she has crafted a body of work that continues to challenge, console, and deepen our understanding of the world around us.
Image: Mom at Work (from the "Family Pictures and Stories" series) from the book 'The Heart of the Matter' © Carrie Mae Weems
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