MONORETRO
ROOTS
Some photographs survive. Most moments don’t.
What you’re looking at isn’t a campaign, a timeline or a carefully curated gallery. It’s simply what made it this far.
An archive of places, people, machines, mistakes and moments that shaped MONORETRO long before it had a name.
Born late enough to miss the rules.
Early enough to live without them.
Some things were better left undocumented.
STUDIO
Immediate. Creative. Unfiltered.
Rooted in analogue culture, made for everyday wear.
ARCHIVE
This archive isn’t a museum—it’s a living organism.
Barbara, NYC
John Deer, Highway 66
Trucker Cap
MonoBoy
Not a fan of Don
Ionnas, Athens
Pete. LEJ
Bez, BER
Barbara, NYC
Johannes, LEJ
See You Next Tuesday
Magnolia
Zschoche, Austin
Out the door after lunchNo helmets and stubbed toesGet out there and grow up — just be back by sunsetYour gran’s phone number. Learned by heart. Dialed by handA paper bag of sweets. You pointed. They scoopedTwenty four frames. No preview. No deleteThe camera didn’t do the seeing. You did35mm film dropped at the Photo Mart. Ready next weekSeven days of not knowing. Did the viewfinder lie?A swell you shouldn’t have been in. No up. No downMaybe I drown. Then the bottom. Suck in some airYou paddled back outA cigarette in the family car’s glove box. Probably been there a yearThe point was the tryingSunday morning. Empty car park. White-knuckled hand of your dad on the dashboardYou stalled it. You ground those gears. And then you smiled at each otherThe sunset drive with no destination. Sorted everything outWaiting for a song on the radio. Actually waiting. It came onIt was better for the waitingKnocking on a door not knowing if anyone was home. They were homeYou’re holding it upside downMissed the turn anyway. Arriving alwaysA concert. Nothing in your pocket but your handsThe bass through your chest. Two days of ringing earsThe memory had nowhere else to goFixing something because throwing it away felt wrongKnowing your neighbours’ names. All of themThose days didn’t end because they weren’t good enoughThey just went faster than they should haveWithout technology. Without a screen. You wouldn’t be reading thisAnalogue roots. Modern utilityOut the door after lunchNo helmets and stubbed toesGet out there and grow up — just be back by sunsetYour gran’s phone number. Learned by heart. Dialed by handA paper bag of sweets. You pointed. They scoopedTwenty four frames. No preview. No deleteThe camera didn’t do the seeing. You did35mm film dropped at the Photo Mart. Ready next weekSeven days of not knowing. Did the viewfinder lie?A swell you shouldn’t have been in. No up. No downMaybe I drown. Then the bottom. Suck in some airYou paddled back outA cigarette in the family car’s glove box. Probably been there a yearThe point was the tryingSunday morning. Empty car park. White-knuckled hand of your dad on the dashboardYou stalled it. You ground those gears. And then you smiled at each otherThe sunset drive with no destination. Sorted everything outWaiting for a song on the radio. Actually waiting. It came onIt was better for the waitingKnocking on a door not knowing if anyone was home. They were homeMissed the turn anyway. Arriving anywayA concert. Nothing in your pocket but your handsThe bass through your chest. Two days of ringing earsThe memory had nowhere else to goFixing something because throwing it away felt wrongKnowing your neighbours’ names. All of themThose days didn’t end because they weren’t good enoughThey just went faster than they should haveWithout technology. Without a screen. You wouldn’t be reading thisAnalogue roots. Modern utility