“FLEETING MOMENTS… ALTERED FACES… UNEXPECTED SPACES. BY TURNS DREADFULLY FUNNY, TERRIBLY HONEST, STRANGELY MELANCHOLIC”…      (ROBERT SMITH, 2014).

Photographer, designer and artist Andy Vella has been observing The Cure since 1981, travelling with the band on an incredible journey over the past 33 years. In that time he’s been responsible for some of the most iconic album artwork of all time – including FAITH, DISINTEGRATION, THE HEAD ON THE DOOR and classic early singles compilation STARING AT THE SEA – all of which captured the mood of the band in a way that no other collaborator could. New book OBSCURE (published by Foruli Codex on 18th September) is a collection of never-before-seen and rare photographs from pivotal moments in the seminal band’s career; from studio shoots to worldwide tours and arena shows.
A contact print from the very first photoshoot for the 1981 studio album FAITH (the band’s third) sets the tone for what is to come over the following 160 pages as OBSCURE twists and turns through some of the most important moments in The Cure’s career. It captures many of The Cure’s music videos in still image, from the iconic colour-drenched look of INBETWEEN DAYS to the playful CLOSE TO ME and the groundbreaking BOYS DON’T CRY.
Curated and compiled personally by Andy Vella, with full input from Robert Smith, OBSCURE boasts page after page of previously unseen imagery lifted from the archives for the very first time. “I have no fixed idea of the image I’m after; I always like and trust spontaneity,” Vella says. “I love light and dark and what sits in the middle. With The Cure I love putting images to poetry. When I photograph The Cure I’m always transported somewhere new”. The hardback OBSCURE can be pre-ordered from Foruli here, and a strictly limited edition print, designed and signed by Andy Vella, is available, here.