In this bold, surreal photographic celebration of the fantastical beauty of cosplay, 70 cosplayers leave behind their everyday existence and become heroes for a day. Whether it is becoming a fictional character or presenting the 'you' the world sees, the craft of cosplay is everywhere. A powerful expression of individuality and diversity, cosplay is a global phenomenon that allows a large number of diverse individuals to join together in one single chaotic but inclusive community. Cosplay allows anyone to become a hero for a day. After attending a cosplay convention in 2018, photographer Thurstan Redding became captivated by cosplay as a subject matter and embarked on a three-year photographic project to portray cosplay in a way it had never been seen before. In this bold and surprising volume, he captures the transfixing world of cosplay. Brought to life through the presentation of 70 cosplayers in the most unassuming of locations, this exceptional book highlights how creativity can thrive in the most mundane realities: Spider-Man is illuminated by the open fridge in the kitchen, three Alices wait at a bus stop in a desolate Wonderland, Resistance Pilot plays dead on the gravel driveway of a suburban housing estate. Supplemented by commentary from the cosplayers themselves, together with behind-the-scenes pages from Thurstan's personal diary, Kids of Cosplay is 'a celebration of ... fandom and allows a glimpse into the world where people are united by their celebration of an art which transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary' (The Independent). A foreword by fashion powerhouse Katie Grand, an essay by writer and performer Tom Rasmussen, who discusses the social and cultural context of cosplay, and an illuminating interview with Redding by noted fashion writer Sara McAlpine complete this compelling volume. Sometimes, all it takes is to scratch the surface of our realities to reveal the fantasy that lies beneath.

'Bitingly funny, infectiously inquisitive and ferociously sharp. Adored!' ATTITUDE 'A fascinating interrogation' GRAZIA 'An incisive, witty and moving look at marriage - as an achievement, a compromise, a selling-out, a practical solution' REFINERY29 It was one thing to get married when your parents, your neighbours, your community insisted on it, when a sacred union for heterosexuals was not just one option but the only option. It's quite another to keep doing it in when free of that societal and religious pressure. What is the allure of an institution grounded in patriarchy, in elitism, in white supremacy in the West, an institution that invalidated all but one kind of love till quite recently? Why do so many of us fight against these social ills while also posting pictures of proposals on Instagram? Is it possible to be married while subverting the institution by doing it one's own way, or is marriage having the last laugh after all? Tom Rasmussen comes from a Northern, working class family, for whom marriage in the centrepiece of life. They are also a male-bodied, non-binary queer person in a relationship with a man. Journeying through wildly different weddings, visits to wedding planners, interviews with the much-married, those who have questioned their decision to marry, and those who would never consider matrimony, this is an incisive, witty and moving look at marriage - as an achievement, a compromise, a selling-out, a practical solution. Tom Rasmussen examines what marriage means across the spectrum of sexuality and class, and what the future looks like for this most historic and universal of institutions. 'An incisive, compassionate probing of the pleasures and pitfalls of marriage ... A deft deconstruction of normativity today' DAZED 'Tom Rasmussen is a smart and accomplished storyteller ... Anyone - queer or straight - who's considering marriage, or for that matter anyone who's deeply in love should read this unputdownable book' KATE BORNSTEIN 'I love Tom Rasmussen and adore their writing' TRAVIS ALABANZA 'An interrogation and an investigation ... A deeply funny and optimistic read' JUNO ROCHE

'Bitingly funny, infectiously inquisitive and ferociously sharp. Adored!' ATTITUDE 'A fascinating interrogation' GRAZIA 'An incisive, witty and moving look at marriage - as an achievement, a compromise, a selling-out, a practical solution' REFINERY29 It was one thing to get married when your parents, your neighbours, your community insisted on it, when a sacred union for heterosexuals was not just one option but the only option. It's quite another to keep doing it in when free of that societal and religious pressure. What is the allure of an institution grounded in patriarchy, in elitism, in white supremacy in the West, an institution that invalidated all but one kind of love till quite recently? Why do so many of us fight against these social ills while also posting pictures of proposals on Instagram? Is it possible to be married while subverting the institution by doing it one's own way, or is marriage having the last laugh after all? Tom Rasmussen comes from a Northern, working class family, for whom marriage in the centrepiece of life. They are also a male-bodied, non-binary queer person in a relationship with a man. Journeying through wildly different weddings, visits to wedding planners, interviews with the much-married, those who have questioned their decision to marry, and those who would never consider matrimony, this is an incisive, witty and moving look at marriage - as an achievement, a compromise, a selling-out, a practical solution. Tom Rasmussen examines what marriage means across the spectrum of sexuality and class, and what the future looks like for this most historic and universal of institutions. 'An incisive, compassionate probing of the pleasures and pitfalls of marriage ... A deft deconstruction of normativity today' DAZED 'Tom Rasmussen is a smart and accomplished storyteller ... Anyone - queer or straight - who's considering marriage, or for that matter anyone who's deeply in love should read this unputdownable book' KATE BORNSTEIN 'I love Tom Rasmussen and adore their writing' TRAVIS ALABANZA 'An interrogation and an investigation ... A deeply funny and optimistic read' JUNO ROCHE

In the Footsteps of the Etruscans describes the archaeology of the countryside within a ten km radius of the small town of Tuscania near Rome, throwing light on the unrecorded lives of the generations of farmers and shepherds who have lived there. What was the character of prehistoric settlement prior to Etruscan urbanization? How did urbanization shape the lives of the 'ordinary Etruscans' working the land, hardly ever addressed in Etruscan archaeology? What was the impact on these people of being absorbed into the expanding Roman empire and its globalised economic structures? How did the empire's collapse and the subsequent emergence of the nucleated medieval village affect Tuscania's rural population? The project's 7500-year 'archaeological history', from the first farmers to those grappling with globalisation today, contributes eloquently to our understanding of how Mediterranean peoples have constantly shaped their landscape, and been shaped by it.

This is a collection of essays by distinguished scholars that will introduce the student or museum-goer to the study of Greek vases. Although the book is roughly chronological in arrangement--beginning with the appearance of human figures on Geometric vases, and ending with their virtual disappearance from Hellenistic pottery--it is not a history of Greek vase painting, or a handbook. It offers instead a series of suggestions on how to read the often complex images presented by Greek vases, and also explains how the vases were made and distributed. The volume is fully illustrated throughout.