Automotive Monogamy is a book about automobiles that also functions as a kind of anthropological study: it is not just about cars, but about the relationship between people and their most cherished objects, a silent dialogue woven from memories, affection and mechanical devotion. It’s a kind of monogamy where the relationship is with one’s car and one which some owners carry on for decades, growing old together with their mechanical companion.
Matteo Ferrari is an Italian photographer with over twenty years of experience and collaborations with international publications such as Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and Marie Claire. He searched for his subjects mainly in two ways: by leaving a message on every old car he spied around town, and occasionally stopping people he sees driving these veteran vehicles. He also tells everyone he knows about his project, asking them to investigate in their families and, in turn, to spread the word among relatives and friends.
Ultimately there are 35 stories and 70 photos collected in Italy, Argentina and the United Kingdom, paired in a time lapse between ‘yesterday and today’ or ‘then and now’ to frame the stories of the people behind each car both visually and with short texts that often throws up some singular and truly epic stories.
Lazy Dog Press, 96pp, 21 x 28cm, illustrated hardcover, 2025