South African photographer Kent Andreasen has never shied away from complexity. With a background in cinematography and a globally recognised portfolio of images that sit somewhere between the intimate and the existential, Andreasen’s work has long explored the subtle terrain of the human condition. Now, with the release of his first book, Memory Bank, published by Witty Books (Italy), that exploration becomes more personal—and more vulnerable.
Set to launch officially at Paris Photo (November 13–16, 2025) with pre-orders opening on September 26, Memory Bank is a 200-page softcover book (24 × 32 cm) that brings together five years of image-making, archival research and constructed scenes into a visceral, if at times elusive, body of work. As its title suggests, the project is a meditation on memory—its failures, its fictions and the often painful terrain it uncovers.
“At the end of the day, each image makes sense to me and is more about figuring things out than making something cohesive,” says Andreasen. “A trail of consciousness that comes at you like a fever dream and hopefully only lets up when you get to the end.”
The book is a visual archive and an emotional map. Themes of death, pain and self-doubt run through its pages like veins, often subtly implied yet sometimes explicit, all the while holding beauty and feeling at the same time.
Kent reflects that he initially resisted writing about the work— “The idea of writing an outline for this book has caused me stress for a long time. If I had wanted to be a writer, it’s something I would actively be doing and would probably be broke,” he admits. An insightful conversation with South African poet and his long-time friend Matthew Freemantle changed that.
All imagery courtesy of Kent Andreasen
“He has a knack for seeing through my facade. I say this because I presented him with the dummy of this book to look over, and he called for a meeting to discuss his ‘findings’. Up until this point, I had shown a few people the work, and most said they enjoyed it but didn’t seem to have really looked at it. And I mean really looked at it.
I was eager to hear what he said because I respect his opinion and knew he wouldn’t hold back. He revealed that the book had a certain darkness and pain that he wasn’t expecting. He was the second person who had said this.
I found myself at a review in Montana a few weeks prior to this interaction, and Jenia Fridyland expressed the same notion—that the book was laced with people in pain.
This got me thinking – maybe that is what this is about: my own internal struggle and my attempt to resolve aspects of my work through memory, my life in South Africa, and these frameworks that I create for myself. Matthew also said he doesn’t normally advise artists to write about their own work but knew that the work was so personal that there may not be someone equipped to pull back the veil.”
All imagery courtesy of Kent Andreasen
What emerges in Memory Bank is not simply a neatly packaged photo series, but an intimate document of a photographer exploring his own experience and the fragmented nature of memory.
Born in Cape Town, Andreasen’s work often grapples with the contradictions of contemporary South African life—its beauty and its rawness. Memory Bank is an exciting debut into the world of bookmaking, made even more significant by its deeply personal genesis.
Published by Witty Books and available for preorder now Memory Bank is an opening chapter in what promises to be a compelling series of long-form works from one of South Africa’s most introspective contemporary visual artists.
Preorder Memory Bank here
Preorder Memory Bank special print edition here
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