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Photographs by Jonathan Higbee cast a fresh light on New York street life

Many photographers have documented the streets of New York over the years, with artists like Joel Meyerowitz, Bruce Gilden, Mary Ellen Mark, Elliot Erwitt, and Brandon Stanton each providing a different and unique take on the Big Apple.

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Shirtless man with white hair and sunglasses stands among onlookers at what appears to be an outdoor public event under blue sky

Sometimes, indeed, it feels like everything's been done: every angle covered, every perspective covered. And then someone new comes along and blows away all that complacency. That person is Jonathan Higbee.

In the words of London street photographer Matt Stuart: "Higbee is visually redescribing New York, in a language that I have never seen or heard there before, and shines a bright new light on the capital of street photography". Now, finally, Higbee's long-awaited first monograph, Coincidences, is being released by Anthology Editions.

The images it contains depict the interplay between New Yorkers often lost in their own worlds: moving through crowded intersections, past street signs and advertising billboards, and more; as they hustle to get to work, home or their next appointment.

A dancer performs on a stage of trash, graffiti unfurls from a backpack, a father and son hide their faces with cotton candy, and a giant walks the streets of the city. Such fleeting juxtapositions capture the wit, joy and surrealism of everyday life in an often-chaotic metropolis.

These images may be shot "in the moment", but there's a lot of work and process behind them. Higbee stakes out each location and lingers for minutes to hours— sometimes returning for days to get his desired shot.

He's also worked in Berlin, Paris and London, but writes: “I don’t think this body of work could have happened anywhere besides New York. Something about the city’s nature—that mix of commercialism, hustle, and the 24-hour lifestyle—all combines to make a very New York story."

Coincidences is available for pre-order from 8 October at Anthologyeditions.com.

Person with purple umbrella standing in front of colourful street mural with yellow rays and geometric patterns in blue and red
Man in glasses taking a photo on an urban plaza while a woman in a floral dress stands nearby, with a stark blue and black geometric wall behind them
Mickey Mouse character sits on a New York subway train surrounded by commuters in winter coats
Two men in dark suits walk past a modernist building facade with rows of windows and storefronts on a busy New York street
Man in tan jacket and hat walks past a storefront advertisement on a busy New York street
Man in suit and hat crossing New York street with tour bus and skyscrapers in background, smoke rising from building in distance
Man in sunglasses and blue shirt holding a black bag in front of green wall with yellow graffiti scribble
A man in a grey cardigan and cap holds a blue shopping bag outside a camera shop with yellow signage on a New York street, as a woman in red walks past.
Woman holding a book with a portrait of a face on its cover, obscuring her own face, while seated at a table on a New York street
Book cover of Jonathan Higbee's monograph Coincidences featuring a man with white hair and sunglasses with smoke obscuring his face against a grey building facade
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