Book excerpt: Interleaving colour and black-and-white photographs, Simmons has produced an unparalleled study into the way in which Lucas's life informs and shapes her art. Each chapter focuses on a separate work in a sequence of close-up black-and-white shots in dramatic chiaroscuro, interspersed with images from Mexican streets, bars and houses. The images explore the different figures - huddling or sprawling, with breast-like appendages and bulbous limbs - with an almost pornographic intensity, scrutinising their surface textures and their variously firm and flaccid structures. The book features a series of conversations with Lucas's various friends - interwoven to create a revealing and intimate dialogue with the artist about the making of the series. The tone and typography of the words shifts, taking us from poetic musings to explanations of the works and their titles.