Planetary Realism – Art Against Apocalypse by Josephine Berry
“The cover design takes an untitled collage by Paul Nash for a 1960s Shell motor guide of Dorset, but introducing a lurid, vibrant colour scheme inspired by oil spills, overlayed with semi-transparent text to reveal the course halftone screen below.”
From Wolfe Hall:
Josephine Berry’s latest title explores the devastation left in the wake of modernity and how globalisation is revealing a fragile and unfamiliar planet. Surveying a body of planet-facing art, communal practices and activism, this book investigates art’s power to break with capitalist realism and petroleum landscapes, finding new ways to reimagine life on Earth.
The typographic language of the book references both vintage petrol advertising and the language of protest by styling monumental, heavy-weight, condensed lettering for chapter title pages and headers.
The main text is set to feel like a road. Each justified paragraph weaves from left to right, meandering across the page, disrupted by contextual imagery, bold footnote numbering, and a bright pink thread ties the sections together.
Wolfe Hall used Waldenburg in Condensed Medium, Condensed Heavy, SemiCondensed Heavy and Book styles.
Planetary Realism was edited by Leah Whitman-Salkin and published in March 2025 by Sternberg Press.
