Gillian Laub

Gillian Laub is a photographer and filmmaker based in New York. For the past two decades, she has explored political conflicts, complex family and community relationships, and cultural identity, often challenging assumptions and uncovering uncomfortable truths through her work.

Her first monograph, Testimony (Aperture), originated as a response to the Second Intifada in the Middle East, documenting personal stories from both sides of the conflict. Laub later spent more than ten years examining issues of racism in the American South, a project that culminated in her first feature-length documentary film, Southern Rites, which she directed and produced. The film premiered on HBO and was accompanied by her book Southern Rites (Damiani) and a traveling exhibition that continues to serve as a teaching tool in schools and institutions across the United States.

Laub’s forthcoming monograph, Family Matters (Aperture), spans over twenty years of photographs and examines how society’s deepest divisions are reflected in intimate relationships. The project focuses on her own family as a microcosm of how former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric of discord and division has impacted individuals, households, and communities across the country. An exhibition of Family Matters opened at the International Center of Photography in September 2021.