A massive photographic archive of Lee “Scratch” Perry’s legendary recording studio

A 600-page tribute to one of the most famous locales in music history, Black Ark is a detailed inventory of photographs and writings from the Black Ark Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, where producer Lee “Scratch” Perry created music from 1973 onward. The eclectic and constantly evolving decoration of the studio provides an enduring visual counterpart to Perry’s expansive musical catalog. From mural paintings to shape-shifting assemblages of records, instruments, found objects, posters and newspaper clippings, the artworks layer upon one another as they intertwine with the studio building itself. Perry created his own dense and diverse world in which to work: memorialized in this volume before the Black Ark disappears for good.

The photographic documentation of the studio in the spring of 2021 was supplemented by efforts to secure and preserve Perry’s works, objects and recordings as part of a joint project with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Black Ark reflects the rhythm and layering effects of collage both in its content and the materials used to craft the book. Perry was involved in the development of this publication until his death in August 2021. The book closes with memorial essays from Ishion Hutchinson, David Katz, Kodwo Eshun and John Corbett.

Lee “Scratch” Perry (1936–2021) was a musician and producer best known for pioneering the dub genre in the 1970s. He worked with well-known Jamaican artists such as Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Heptones, the Congos and Max Romeo. In 2003 he won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.