“It started as a way to work with people I care about, friends, peers, collaborators,” says photographer Josh Hight about his latest project, a recurring broadsheet publication called Idle Pages. Originally from Detroit but now based in Lewes in East Sussex, Hight has become known for his ethereal, often unsettling imagery that draws inspiration from nature. With Idle Pages, each issue will be limited to a run of just fifty copies and will explore ideas of collaboration through portraiture. To get a copy you have to go directly to Hight, and that’s the point: get out there and speak to people.

We caught up with the photographer to discuss the origins of Idle Pages, why he chose the broadsheet format and where he finds his inspiration.

“Together, the images feel like a kind of modern myth, each person an archetype.”

Barry Pierce: What are the origins of Idle Pages?
Josh Hight: It started as a way to work with people I care about – friends, peers, collaborators. I wanted to build stronger relationships through photography, outside the pressure of commissions or timelines. Just a space to make and share work for its own sake.

BP: Could you tell us more about the process of creating Issue 0?
JH: I shot most of it around Lewes, where I live, over a few months. It was all people I knew or wanted to know better. There was no real brief, just a feeling that each portrait should hold its own weight. Together, the images feel like a kind of modern myth, each person an archetype.

BP: What drew you to making it in a broadsheet format?
JH: I like the size and awkwardness of it. You have to give it space, and it takes up space. It’s bold but not precious. Broadsheets are also ephemeral, which I like. People can keep it, pin it up, or throw it away. That freedom suits the project.

BP: You mention that each issue is built around collaboration, how do those collaborations usually take shape?
JH: Right now it’s open. Issue 0 was me setting the tone, saying “here I am,” like a beacon. Going forward, I want to work with people I admire across different fields: stylists, set designers, musicians, writers, anyone up for building something together. It’s about making space to collaborate, to explore people and the environments they inhabit. Even how the newspaper is shared comes from that same place. You have to ask me directly for a copy, it’s not personless. That connection is part of the whole thing.

BP: Which photographers would you say have inspired your work the most?
JH: Brian Griffin, without question. He was a mentor and a friend. I wouldn’t be doing this without him. Also: August Sander, Herbert List, Man Ray. Classic influences, but they still hit.

BP: Outside of photography, from what art form do you find the most inspiration?
JH: Music, mostly. Anything that shifts perception or creates a sense of otherness, perfume, film, sound. Things that let you step outside the perceived real, even for a second.

Follow Josh Hight on Instagram.