Sleeping by the Mississippi

Alec Soth’s Sleeping by The Mississippi is one of the defining publications of the photo-book era. First published in 2004, it was Soth’s first book and sold through three editions, establishing him as a leading light of contemporary photographic practice. Evolving from a series of road trips along the Mississippi river, America’s iconic yet oft-neglected ‘third coast’, Soth’s richly descriptive, large-format colour photographs present an eclectic mix of individuals, landscapes, and interiors. Sensuous in detail and raw in subject, the work elicits a consistent mood of loneliness, longing, and reverie.