Tyler Mitchell: Wish This Was Real

This book was published on the occasion of Tyler Mitchell: Wish This Was Real, an exhibition that opened at C/O Berlin in 2024 before traveling to the Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki; Photo Élysée, Lausanne, Switzerland; Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris; and Foto Arsenal Wien, Vienna (2024–26). This definitive early-career survey offers a deep look at Mitchell’s evolving practice across photography, video, and sculpture. Together, these works explore beauty, utopia, and the landscape within the context of contemporary Black presence.

Groups of plates reveal the full range of Mitchell’s work, from genre-bending portraits made in the United States, Europe, and West Africa to photographs referencing Black intellectual heritage that are printed on mirrors and fabric. A foreword by Anna Wintour and a conversation between Mitchell and Rashid Johnson delve into his practice. New perspectives on his work are introduced in essays by Sophie Cavoulacos, Brendan Embser, Robin Coste Lewis, Sarah Lewis, Drew Sawyer, Rachel Tashjian, and Salamishah Tillet.