230 x 300 mm, 472 pages 

Paris, France

Annual, first published in 2022

Editor-in-chief: Francesca Gavin

Creative director: Léonard Vernhet

If you know your indies, you’ll immediately recognise the names of Epoch founders Francesca Gavin and Léonard Vernhet—both have had their names attached to multiple magazines. Launched in 2022, Epoch is a big, bold thought-provoking attempt to cross-pollinate disciplines and link subjects often regarded as opposites: art and science, archeology and music, anthropology and fashion. Their argument is that traditional ideas of linear history are outdated; we need a new way to explain human civilisation.

This fourth issue—containing a satisfying blend of matte and glossy paper stock—has been created in collaboration with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and is themed around the historical location itself. Through more than 20 commissioned photographic shoots, 30 interviews and five think pieces, it beautifully documents the UNESCO World Heritage site while exploring Pompeii as a lens through which to observe the past. In doing so, it opens up a dialogue between history and the present.

Leaf through its pages and you’ll find Director General of the park, Gabriel Zuchtrigel, reflect on Pompeii as a birthplace of the contemporary psyche, historian Mary Beard ponder on classicism as a constant yet destabilising ‘other’ and director Adrian Maben recount musical performances that have taken place in Pompeii—from Pink Floyd to Travis Scott. Throughout, a series of photoshoots captures the site’s tiled floors and ruins in a striking new light. They say taking a memento from Pompeii brings bad luck—so pick up a copy of this instead!

epoch-review.com