Adrian Buckmaster's An Embarrassment of Riches is a stirring collection of portraits that will leave readers with the impression that they have stumbled upon a gothic, otherworldly carnival. This inspired and stunning book features 295 color and black-and-white photographs of people in costumes and settings that range from the mundane to the fantastic. Buckmaster's portraits reveal even the mundane as interesting via arrangements that form a deep and complicated emotional resonance.
While many of the portraits illuminate the subject's individuality, Buckmaster's interpretation of archetypes and mythology offers a deeper meaning. Readers with an eye for fine details will discover the multi-layered stories Buckmaster has composed in every shot. States of decorative undress reveal each character and create a charged tension between subject and photographer. An Embarrassment of Riches is one of the most interesting and playful collections of portraits released this year, in which humanity is explored in its splendor. --Justus Joseph, bookseller at Elliott Bay Book Company