How can photography engage with the idea of energy today? The latest issue of Trigger approaches this question by examining the relationship between energy, visual culture and contemporary society. The publication brings together reflections on decarbonisation, collective responsibility, repair practices and alternative ways of imagining the future.

Energy emerges not only as fuel or technological resource, but as a broader cultural, political and spiritual force. The issue moves across themes such as oil industries, renewable systems, war economies, ecological collapse, spiritual traditions, female anger and sacred landscapes, revealing how different histories and understandings of energy continue to shape the present.

Bringing together multiple perspectives and visual approaches, the publication investigates forms of energy that often remain invisible within dominant narratives. Through new vocabularies and speculative imaginaries, it explores how photography can participate in rethinking transitions, interdependence and the changing relationship between humans, resources and the planet.

Trigger #5: Energy is the FUTURES year book of 2023, and is composed by the editorial board consisting of Julia Gelezova & Ángel Luis González Fernández (PhotoIreland), Emese Mucsi (Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center), Daria Tuminas (FOTODOK), and Tom Viaene (FOMU). Contributions by: Duncan Wooldridge, Sylvia Ballhause, Máté Dobokay, Agata Madejska, Mariama Attah, Euridice Zaituna Kala, René D’amour Hitimana, Risk Hazekamp, Eline Benjaminsen, Tanja Engelberts, Bas Blaasse, Hannah Fletcher, Hiroki Shin, Cara Daggett, Sheng-Wen Lo, Cale Garrido, Kateryna Radchenko, Yana Kononova, Tina Farifteh, Yvette Monahan, Hiền Hoàng, Sebastian Koudijzer, Léonard Pongo, Caroline Woolard.