Cig Harvey

Issue 242 – Color, Grief, and the Magic in the Mundane

Cig Harvey

For several years, I’ve come across the work of Cig Harvey and Alex Prager, and because I’m a neanderthal, I assumed that both were male. For Christmas, I received two books by Cig Harvey: Blue Violet and Emerald Drifters, and one book by Alex Prager: Silver Lake Drive. That is when I realized that both are women.

In today’s newsletter, I’d like to talk about Cig Harvey. Next week, I’ll write about Alex Prager.

Cig Harvey

In a world flooded with photographs, Cig Harvey’s images have a way of stopping you in your tracks. Harvey is a British-born, Maine-based photographer known for transforming everyday life into visual poetry. Her work brims with vibrant color and rich storytelling, inviting even the uninitiated to linger and look a little longer.

Clouds in the Lake – ©Cig Harvey

Through her lens, ordinary moments become enchanting. “Clouds in the Lake” shows the sky seemingly dissolved in water. “Red Jacket (Hanging)” presents a cherry-red coat suspended above a bed. “Jesse on the Rocks (Fog)” captures a lone figure in a pink trench coat standing barefoot on a foggy shore. Each scene feels both familiar and otherworldly, imbued with a touch of surreal magic. Harvey’s photographs invite us to look closer at the world around us – to find, as she does, the magic in the mundane.

Red Jacket (Hanging) – ©Cig Harvey

Jesse on the Rocks – ©Cig Harvey

Finding Beauty in the Everyday

Harvey’s work is deeply rooted in the natural world and the rhythms of daily life. Raised in the English countryside and now living on a farm in rural Maine, she draws endless inspiration from her surroundings. The passing seasons, wildflowers by the roadside, the fog rolling in off the bay – these are her muses. She often carries her camera everywhere, ready to seize a moment because nature’s magic can vanish in an instant.