MAURA SULLIVAN: As We Speak

As We Speak, the third book by Maura Sullivan, is an intimate conversation between her and her subjects. Characterized by their analog grain, the images create an atmospheric narrative that transports viewers to a world where stories unfold with each page turn.

These photographs were born in small apartments, on rooftops, in the streets during travels, and in hidden escapes where Sullivan and her subjects sought to connect. Begging and borrowing light and time, the photographer and the subject made these images that offer a window into dreams, the past, and the unspoken. In these stolen moments lives a freedom and soulfulness that resonates within us all.

How do we speak if we have no adequate language? These frames invite us to step into places, to gaze into faces, and to become part of a conversation beyond words. By some alchemy, these images hold our unexpressed emotions. We gaze upon that which eludes thoughts and language, revealing hidden layers of human connection and the voices of those we’ve lost.

As We Speak can be seen as a kindred companion to Sullivan’s out-of-print first book, Things We Remember (Skeleton Key Press, 2021). This new, mysterious, and elegant collection of visual storytelling invites readers to explore the intricacies of what is known and what is yet to be discovered. It is for anyone seeking to connect with the nuances of human experience, where each image speaks volumes beyond the limits of language.

“Maura Sullivan is a sorceress. She casts spells on her subjects (she loves them all), and each one is transformed into an image equally beautiful, melancholic, and utterly out of time. She is a very good (and very romantic) witch.” —Michael Ackerman

“As We Speak is a dark, grainy dreamscape driven by exquisite gestures with shadows lurking at every turn. It is set in the past in an unknown place far away. Like a great Film Noir, it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Long after this haunting journey, one is still possessed by its state of endless longing.” —Amy Arbus

“Welcome to the secret world of Maura Sullivan. As you leaf through the pages of As We Speak, you might be fooled into believing you’re gazing upon faces from your past, houses you’ve heard about, places that are important, but you’re not quite sure why. Sullivan’s darkly majestic photos—grainy black and white, slightly blurred, strangely cropped, unstable, and shadowed—cast a shamanistic spell on you, entrancing you with their silent and timeless moods, drawing you inward toward mysteries that seem somehow familiar but that you can’t solve, which keeps you staring, wondering, searching . . .” —Josh Gosfield

MAURA SULLIVAN was born in 1971 in Hartford, Connecticut. She graduated from Syracuse University (B.F.A.) in 1993 and has also attended the International School of Photography. Her work is part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and is represented by PG Art Gallery (Istanbul). Sullivan’s photographs have been widely exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions across the United States, Argentina, the Netherlands, Poland, and Turkey. In 2011, she received the Julia Margaret Cameron Award. Her photographs have been published in Art Forum, Black+White Photography, Shots Magazine, Private, Fotoritim, New York Magazine, and the book Series of Dreams (SKP, 2018). Her photographs have also appeared in the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada. As We Speak is Sullivan’s third monograph, following Things We Remember (SKP, 2021) and After Beauty (2021, 1605 Collective). Sullivan lives and works in New York City.

Published by Skeleton Key Press, January 2026
ISBN 978-82-694125-1-2
19.5 x 29 cm (7.7 x 11.4 in)
Hardcover, 136 pages, 95 duotone plates
Edited by Maura Sullivan and Russell Joslin
Book design by Russell Joslin
Type design by Nina Schürmaier
Text in English