BOOKi 2021

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Booki. Studying Photobooks 2021
1—24.10.2021
pf Gallery of Photography
CK Zamek in Poznan

opening: 1.10.2021, 6:00 PM CET

BOOKI. Studying Photobooks is the 3rd edition of the international review of photography books made by students and graduates of art schools, presenting authors photopublications made in recent years. Among dozens of publications selected from universities in Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Poland and Slovakia there are unique, rarely presented to a wider audience, low-edition photographic publications. Many of them were made in unconventional and unique forms.

The exhibition is accompanied by guided tours, workshops and presentations, as well as a discussion on the significance and functioning of paper photographic publications and specialist education in this field. The review fosters international university collaboration to advance education and exchange experiences in creating and maintaining book-length visual narratives.


Selection of books for this year’s edition was made by:

Anne De Gelas — École supérieure des arts de l’image, LE 75 – Bruxelles, Belgium
Vladimír Birgus — Institut tvůrčí fotografie, Slezské univerzity v Opavě, Czech Republic
Franck Maindon — École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière, Saint-Denis, France
Klaus Fruchtnis Paris College of Art, France
Jarosław Klupś  Department of Photography, University of the Arts Poznań, Poland
Olja Triaška Stefanović, Juraj Blaško — Vysoká škola výtvarných umení v Bratislave, Slovakia

guest appearance: BLURRING THE LINES

curator: Jarosław Klupś
cooperation: Dominika Karalus, Wojciech Luchowski
organizers: The Department of Photography at the Abakanowicz University of the Arts in Poznan
pf Gallery of Photography, Zamek Cultural Center in Poznan
patronage: Blok Magazine, PolishPhotobook Review

Natália Dominiková
Jozef Sklenka
Lexi Toxi
Sarah Colombani
Religions
Clyde Lepage
RWANDA•IS•ES

“Photobook making has become an essential asset of our curriculum. It allows students to explore the history and its role as a crucial vehicle for sharing photographic images, investigate great examples of the photobook form and practice, compare how a range of photographers have exploited its affordances, and experiment with creating their photobooks. We engage students in stages of the writing process, selecting images and creating a visual discourse. Students organize their ideas, express their thoughts, and edit text and images, learning the importance of editing, sequencing, and design in photobook-making. In the photography department we offer a joint seminar across the photography department to understand the evolution of the photobook as a medium, its potential as a vehicle of history, and its place in the photo market today with its narrative and unique storytelling power. Students learn techniques and best practices for photobook making, and the outcome is a collective zine and a photobook of the individual students' seminar projects. We encourage and promote the creation of photobooks at school but also enable them after graduation. We see in this practice the importance of conducting basic artistic research and documentation by keeping a personal style.

For BOOKI 2021 we selected the books that raise questions about mental health, family archives, rising social movements. The topics represent the artist's internal struggle with perfection, fragility, and transparency in today's society.

In addition to the students' projects, we submitted the books Blurring the Lines. The platform aims to promote student's thesis research work, get international recognition, and contribute to an inter-academic dialogue. The books show a different expansion of modes of education and representation through photography.”

Klaus Fruchtnis | Paris College of Art, France / Blurring the Lines Project

“The books on display were conceived during the “artist book” course at the photography department of the ESA 75. They are therefore the work of graduated students with an artistic bachelor degree in photography. This course encourages experimentation. The artist book is conceived and produced by students. We approach the artist book in its global comprehension. The goal is to push students to comprehend what is at stake and to use the possibilities most appropriate for his project. To this end, the course is divided into one theoretical part about the history of the artist book, a more technical part about the vocabulary of the book and an introduction to bookbinding, a practical course where we develop the relationship between text and image, layout, typography, InDesign, different types of printing... The goal is to give students the tools they need in order to create an edition considering the editorial constraints.”

Anne De Gelas | École supérieure des arts de l’image, LE 75 – Bruxelles, Belgium

“Publications by students and graduates of the Institute of Creative Photography can be divided into two groups. First of all, these are author's photographic books, thematically very diverse, which have been created for a long time within the framework of the subject Documentary Publication under the supervision of teachers Prof. Jindřich Štrait and graphic artist and typographer docent Otakar Karlas. Here the students not only use their own extensive photographic series, but also edit it themselves and design the book itself graphically. They also work in a similar way during the supplementary studies within the subject The Author's Book under the guidance of Rafał Milach. Another category includes theoretical Bachelor's and Master's theses as well as Doctoral dissertations, which are quite unusual in the ITF due to their scope, graphic design, but most of all due to their content, which covers topics that are still largely unexplored. The works thus significantly enrich the theoretical and historical knowledge of Czech, Slovak and Polish photography. Both types of the above-mentioned student book works have already been published several times in large editions and distributed as book publications.”

Vladimír Birgus | Institut tvůrčí fotografie Slezské univerzity v Opavě

“The book was the goal of many early experiments in the field of photography – it is a traditional, natural space for it. A particularly fascinating field of action, because it allows direct physical contact with the image. The book's materiality is seductive, it encourages you to carefully view the images placed in it, it evokes a special, personal relationship with the reader. Students of Photography at UAP often reach for the book as a means of unrestricted artistic expression. They edit and interpret both series of own photographs as well as sets of images found, selected according to the original idea. They use the possibilities of experimenting, questioning publishing conventions, creating new original visual narratives.”

Jarosław Klupś | Abakanowicz University of the Arts in Poznan, Poland

“Most of the presented projects are the result of an experimental workshop in Master 1, in which the students have to take on all the stages of publishing: designing, choosing the medium and the binding method, page layout, printing and finishing the work. Based on a theme, the student builds up a corpus of images that he or she must deploy in a relevant presentation logic. This restriction obviously limits the range of subjects and mainly leads to three types of approach: redirection, re-contextualisation or recycling. The bodies of work are therefore organised essentially from targeted collections: family images, or images from “public” databases (Google, AI, etc.).

Two of the projects presented work from a public database (Plants of Japan and Huis Clos), and the other two from a family iconographic collection (Salomon and Le miroir courbe). The last project is a long-term work (over 3 months) in another pedagogical framework that does not involve the previous imperatives. I included it in the selection because the work on the theme of Ourancholia is particularly relevant in the dialogue that is established between the text extracts and the images (made by its author).”

Franck Maindon | École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière, Saint-Denis, France

“Interdisciplinary course focuses on integration of photography and graphic design and teaches students how to create a photobook. Project aims to open a wide range of technological knowledges, teach visual dramaturgy, visual storytelling, that are essential for creation of photobook. Main part of the project is the linkage of two departments (Photography and Visual Communication) into one course Creation of Photobook. Unique conception of this course helps student to better understand the process of creation photobook and prepares students for professional work after graduation. Work with “real” and “raw” material is important educational part of this project. Pedagogues regularly organise lectures of professionals from the field, presentations of created dummy-books at photo book festivals in Slovakia and abroad.”

Olja Triaška Stefanović, Juraj Blaško | Vysoká škola výtvarných umení v Bratislave, Slovakia

Books presented at the exhibition:

École supérieure des arts de limage, LE 75 Bruxelles, Belgium

Field Wave by Louise Rondia & Brieuc Weulersse – photobook 23.4×19 cm, 114 pages, 2021
Retour à la Louvière by Pauline Vanden Neste photobook 23.4x18.5 cm, 68 pages, 2021
Peepshow by Anissa Imanephotobook 29.7x21.3 cm, 64 pages, 2021
Tourmens by Dan Heyden photobook 29.5x19 cm, 60 pages, 2021
Philippine by Alexia Coudrinphotobook 27x24cm, 42 pages, 2021
Untitled by Rachel Cavalheirophotobook 20.5×14.5 cm, 96 pages, 2019

L’ére de la solitude by Loup Guichard photobook 16.5x16 cm, 62 pages, 2019
Religions by Sarah Colombani photobook 22.5x16.5 cm, 164 pages, 2019
ET SI … by Fentaye Flaux photobook 24x17.5 cm, 92 pages, 2019
Décharges by Thibault Grignard photobook 25x30 cm, 76 pages, 2019
RWANDA•IS•ES by Clyde Lepage photobook 33x24.5 cm, 54 pages, 2019

École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière, Saint-Denis, France

Huis-Clos (Behind closed doors) by Nicolas Szwanka – photobook 10,5×14,8 cm, 172 pages, 2020
Ourancholia by Charlotte Hayetphotobook 17,2×25,6 cm, 44 pages, 2020
Salomon by Agathe Calmanovic-Plescoffphotobook 25×18 cm, 32 pages, 2021
Plants of Japan by Morgane Kiefferphotobook 40×36 cm, 19 pages, 2021
Le miroir courbe (The curved mirror) by Léo Guilletphotobook 20 x 20 cm, 86 pages, 2021

Abakanowicz University of Arts in Poznan, Poland

Digital Witchcraft by Laura Radzewicz – photobook 10×14 cm, 120 pages, 2020
The Uncompleted Poetry by Laura Radzewicz – photobook 12×19 cm, 132 pages, 2020
Tanatoza by Artur Kucharczak – photobook 22×28,5 cm, 172 pages, 2019
Egzo Viscera by Paula Mroczkowska – photobook 21×30 cm, 46 stron, 2020
Semiodchylenie (Semideviation) by Grzegorz Sosiński – photobook 17×21 cm, 22 pages, 2019
How I become who I have become? by Gabriela Marciniak – photobook 16,5 x 16,5 cm, 68 pages, 2021
A Mysterious Man Named Sasha by Patrycja Filarska – photobook 13×18 cm, 112 pages, 2021
Shadows by Edyta Jabłońska – photobook – two volumes, 20×26 cm, vol. I: 111 pages, vol. II: 68 pages, 2019
31725 by Gabriela Marciniak – photobook 24×37 cm, 325 pages, 2020
Czerwienie by Patrycja Przedwojska – photobook 20x 25 cm, 200 pages, 2021
Degradacja kwiatów (Degradation of Flowers) by Mariusz Urbański – photobook 50×70 cm, 10 pages, 2020
Nie wyrzucać jedzenia przez okna i balkony by Piotr Zugaj – photobook 30×40 cm, 100 pages, 2019
0,24555012 kg by Aneta Potaś – photobook 31,5 x 40,5 cm, 204 pages, 2019
Failure is by Maja Kopa – photobook 15×21 cm, 132 pages, 2019
Loosing by Maja Kopa – photobook 12×17 cm, 96 pages, 2019
Blue by Magda Pacek – photobook 33×48 cm, 30 pages, 2019
Ego by Alex Ismail – photobook 30×40 cm, 2019
White Noise by Fabrizio Bartolini – photobook 21x30cm, 121 pages, 2021
Raport by Tadeusz Korach – photobook 30×42 cm, 54 pages, 2020
Burza (The Storm) by Jan Wysocki – photobook 20x29cm, 80 pages, 2021

Institut tvůrčí fotografie, Slezské univerzity v Opavě, Czech Republic

Leave stay by Rafał Siderski – photobook 113 pages, 15,5×21,5cm, 2019
Portret prowincji by Jacenty Dedekphotobook 24x30cm, 360 pages, 2020
Mechanizm by Mariusz Forecki photobook 20,5x28cm, 112 pages, 2019
Hoax by Agnieszka Sejudphotobook 21,5x30cm, 32 pages, 2020
CỦ CHI tunnels restoration report by Michał Sita & Anna Pilawska-Sitaphotobook 17×22,5cm, 83 pages, 2019
Róże kwitną na czerwono by Marta Szymanowskaphotobook 14x21cm, 28 pages, 2019
Trompové by Libor Fojtíkphotobook 17×22,5cm, 151 pages, 2020
The Forecast by Marcin Liminowiczphotobook 20,5×26 cm, 64 pages, 2019
Vyprávěj potichu by Michaela Kročákováphotobook 16,5x23cm, 60 pages, 2019
IMAGO by Michal Matoušekphotobook 24x29,5cm, 390 pages, 2018
Stredoeurópsky Dom Fotografie by Branislav Štépánek – photobook 17x23cm, 488 pages, 2018
Two tailed dog by Michał Adamskiphotobook 20×25,5cm, 89 pages, 2019
Fotografické publikace vítkovický Železáren by Ondřej Durczakphotobook 22×25,5cm, 175 pages, 2018
Vandr by Oldřich Malachtaphotobook 14,5×20,7cm, 175 pages, 2019
Syntetik by Tomáš Zumir – photobook 14,7×19,2 cm, 57 pages,2019
Never alone by Robert Barcaphotobook 23x18cm, 58 pages, 2019
Only the wind whispering by Vlasta Lauraphotobook 20x24cm, 65 pages, 2019
Cisza zostanie po rajskich ogrodach by Bart Krezolekphotobook 22,6x22cm, 39 pages, 2020
Nieznany dworzec by Arkadiusz Golaphotobook 21x28cm, 124 pages, 2019
Hotel by Krzysztof Gołuchphotobook 28,5×24,5 cm, 89 pages, 2021

Vysoká škola výtvarných umení v Bratislave, Slovakia

Home office by Michala Obšitošová, Diana Mrázová & Mariana Mažgútováphotobook 15,2 × 43,2 cm, 151 pages, 2021
Partizánske Springs by Zuzana Fajta, Daniela Honíšková & Dominik Šarlinaphotobook 24,5 x 16,3 cm, 124 pages, 2021
Patient Zero by Marcel Korecphotobook 25 x 17,6 cm, 48 pages, 2021
Causing you a lot of harm and unhappiness over a long period of time by Natália Dominiková & Doris Siskováphotobook 14,8 x 21 cm, 70 pages, 2021
Lexi Toxi by Natália Dominiková & Jozef Sklenkaphotobook 12 x 15 cm, 165 pages, 2021
Waiting for others to join by Klára Kusá & Viktor Hermanskýphotobook 21 x 25 cm, 100 pages, 2021
Adaptation, Contact, Netiquette by Adriana Mišková, Daniela Paľová & Anna-Mária Špániková – serie of three photobooks 16 x 250 cm, 40 pages each, 2021

Paris College of Art, France

Six Months by Nathalie Ghanem-Latourphotobook 30×42 cm, 40 pages, 2019
Dori by Kaamna Patel – photobook 16,5×21,5 cm, 136 pages, 2019
In Today’s News: Alpha Males & Women Power by Kaamna Patelphotobook 13×20 cm, 46 pages, 2019
Gilets Jaunes by Carole Dana – photobook 22×19 cm, 92 pages, 2020

Blurring the Lines 2020
Blurring the Lines 2019
Blurring the Lines 2018

PHOTOS: Zachar Szerstobitow
WEB DESIGN: Marcin Czerkasow