“Our setting is Portland, Oregon. The photographer is a 43-year-old, divorced American dad. His family and city are splintering, but any feelings of regret are curbed by the thrum of money and capital moving the wheels underneath. We are scattered between points of departure and arrival. All that’s left are pictures to hold the balance.”

– Rian Dundon, Passenger foreword

Join us at Printed Matter Chelsea for a conversation between Portland, Oregon–based photographer and zinemaker Rian Dundon and Tod Lippy, whose new imprint, Mirrorical, is publishing Dundon’s latest volume, Passenger. The 96-page large-format book juxtaposes Dundon’s forensic depictions of scenes from a battered city with intimate—and at times, heartbreaking—photographs of friends and family.

Lippy and Dundon will discuss the book and explore in particular its relationship to Dundon’s acclaimed zine-making practice, which includes the publications Out Here and Protest City. Dundon will also sign copies of the book following the presentation.

A limited-edition archival ink-jet print by Dundon, Untitled [from Passenger] is also available for preorder. The artwork is accompanied by a signed copy of Dundon’s publication, and is printed on Hannamühle Archival Rag Paper. Ships after September 12th. Preorder here.

Rian Dundon (b. 1980) is a photographer based in Portland, Oregon and is the author of the books Protest City (OSU Press, 2023), Fan (Modes Vu, 2015), and Changsha (Emphasis, 2012). He has taught documentary photography at the San Francisco Art Institute, University of California, and the International Center of Photography. His photographs have appeared in The Nation, The New Yorker, Mother Jones, and numerous other publications. Dundon, who holds an M.A. in Social Documentation from U.C. Santa Cruz and who was a 2020 Magnum Foundation fellow, currently teaches photography at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington.

Tod Lippy is the founder, editor, and designer of the nonprofit arts publication Esopus. His work for Esopus has been featured in exhibitions at the Walker Art Center; de Appel Art Center in Amsterdam; the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas; and at Colby College Museum of Art, in Waterville, Maine. From 2009 to 2012, Lippy served as curator and director of Esopus Space in New York City; he has also curated exhibitions at New York City’s White Columns and Pioneer Works. Lippy, who is also a filmmaker, musician, and artist, was awarded a MacDowell Colony Fellowship in 2018. His series of photographs of the off-limits areas of commercial art galleries are the subject of the book Private (Mirrorical Books, 2024) and exhibitions at The Future Perfect, Los Angeles (2/29–4/15/24) and The Meeting, New York (4/10–5/20/24).