Paris snaps

Fervent photography buffs should hotfoot it to Paris this month. The French capital is hosting not only the biennial Mois de la Photo but also the top-notch annual fair Paris Photo 08. With over 500 artists from 20 different countries on show, the fair prides itself on being truly international: rival talents from across the globe include British photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten with her over-sized teens (p4), American Sharon Core and her painterly still lifes (p2) plus Petrina Hicks, representing the Aussies, with her eerie, clinical portraits (Lambswool, 2008, above). Japan gets a special mention though as this year's guest of honour, with one of its more controversial exports – bondage-obsessed artist Nobuyoshi Araki (p10) – among those waving the country's flag.