Monday 30 December 2013

Saying Goodbye


2013. What a year it has been. There has been much fun, laughter, success and much sadness and tears, but with all the ups and downs one thing has been constant, my love and passion for my medium, photography. I can't truly explain how lucky I feel that I have outlet, a space where all my thoughts and ideas can develop into my unique vision. Where my experiences shape how I view and understand the world and the environment in which I live and how through imagery I can make my future.

So with this, a few days to go before the start of a promising, positive and successful new year, I let go of all the experiences, felt and lost, and finally say goodbye to my dearest friend, who would this year have had a very special birthday and bid him a fond farewell, this journey has now reached its end. 

Here's to 2014!!!

Emaho Magazine Miss Titus Review

    

As 2013 nears to an end, I am very pleased to say that my second publication is proving to be a great success with only a few copies left and great reviews! So with this in mind, here is a great new piece from Emaho Magazine written by Colin Pantall, here is a little excerpt from the piece.

"So Miss Titus is an investigation in some way. The first thing I notice about it is the beautiful packaging. The first layer is loose tissue, the next is orange paper (with the title mirrored in white) and then more tissue stuck with orange stickers (like the ones you get to mark sold works at some exhibitions).....

So after an inordinate amount of time and consideration, far more time and consideration than I normally give to photobooks. i get cutting. I can see a shadow of the first image on the visible page and when I cut, I see the original. it's a picture of a semi-nude woman (from Hawaii maybe) wearing a garland of leaves around her neck. Opposite there's a picture from Chicago of a semi-nude woman with fairy wings. I go back to the caption. it's Muriel Page and the visible caption says her '...wings are burned from her back many times a day on the stage of the Harding Theatre...' What does that mean. Back to the picture and still I'm none the wiser. I'll be puzzling over that for the rest of the day."



Tuesday 17 December 2013

A Christmas Card Homage


A Christmas Card Homage! This year I decided that what better way to thank my clients, colleagues, collaborators, friends and family than a specially handmade limited edition Christmas Card. So with that idea,  I put it into practice and designed four different cards all in Homage to the great John Baldessari! I have since a child been an avid fan of this genius conceptual artist and couldn't think of a better way to pay my inspirational respects and produce some work inspired and homaged to him.

The source visual material is from the old black and white classics from the 1930's and 1940's, the traditional Christmas films, interworked with that 'Baldessari' style, with an added element of glitter of course! The cards are made in a Limited Edition of 40 plus AP's  (each card in an edition of 10) and are signed on the back of each and every one. Just a little thank you to all for the support and guidance you have all shown over this last year, I look forward to working with you all more in the not too distant future. 

Homage to Baldessari, “Holiday Inn, 1942” Mixed Media,  2013 
Homage to Baldessari, “It’s A Wonderful Life, 1946" Mixed Media, 2013
Homage to Baldessari, “Miracle on 34th Street, 1947” Mixed Media, 2013 
Homage to Baldessari, “A Christmas Carol, 1938” Mixed Media, 2013

Cards are now posted, so what one will you get??? 

Monday 9 December 2013

Louis Vuitton Exclusively Represent The Special Editions of "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" In The New Bond Street Librairie




I am very, very, very proud to announce and release that Louis Vuitton are exclusively representing the Special Editions of my new publication, "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" at their New Bond Street Maison Librairie. 

With our continued relationship, the New Bond Street store now represent both of my publications, "The Photograph As Contemporary Art"  and "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" in the Special Editions. Both publications are positioned beautifully in a dedicated space, alongside their prints and artist information to view. 

I am completed honoured to be working with Louis Vuitton, its a stunning space to view and purchase incredible books and editions from the most iconic and prolific British artists and I am overwhelmed that I share a space with Jake & Dinos Chapman!

Dayanita Singh & Ana Mendieta




Before I flew to Australia, I had a wonderful trip to the Hayward Gallery with a collector/ friend to see these two extraordinary female artists, Dayanita Singh and Ana Mendieta. As I realise that these exhibitions are due to close on 15th December, I would wholeheartedly recommend everyone, anyone who shares a passion about photography, photo books, truth, innovation, ritualism and design and the body must see these shows before they close, they have to be some of the strongest exhibitions I have seen throughout they year. 

The Hayward for me is always a beautiful space to see major exhibitions and again they did not fail in producing and curating two empowering shows, that guide you through the lives living and lost of the two artists, Dayanita and Ana. As you walk into the ground floor, you open the door into the Mendieta show, knowing very little about this artist, I was straight away griped by the intensity, the power of her works, as she uses her body as a medium in very sense. Striking photographs depict her breasts, buttocks, stomach pressed against a piece of glass, re -enactment's of rape scenes and abstract films dominate the first few rooms. Paintings with Ox blood, the use of the tactile as Ana Mendeita puts all her strength into painting with her hands, scrapping paint down the paper, her extraordinary passion ignites every part of you.  The use of her body within her works is stunning, wrapping, positioning and covering her naked body ritualistically into the natural environment, but also her defiance, determination to record every artwork in such a archival, informative manner was so interesting to see. A truly prolific female artist and such a tragedy she died so young, its a must see show, with an energy difficult to put into words.

Then onto the wonderful Dayanita Singh and her show, as the Hayward states, " a landmark project" and it was surely that. "Go Away Closer"  is a stunning exhibition that physically visualises Singh's use of Photography as a medium. Using her imagery, intermixed with incredible design, Singh creates large wooden structures called museums that hold between 70-140 photographs in compartments that open and close, can be moved and positioned, folded and packed away. Each museum  has a curated theme and Dayanita's strong black and white imagery sit within these framed sections creating an inspiringly new way to see her imagery and the narratives that are within them. These structures are not small and the dark wood has a warm, yet slightly domineering element to them, a strength that states, we are here to stay.  It was a truly exciting and fresh way to see her works, using photography as a tool, that can be fashioned into design and where you can see in a different way. Beautiful!  


Monday 2 December 2013

Miss Titus Now At 25Books & Deichtorhallen - Book Store at The House Of Photography!



While I have been away promoting my book on the other side of the world, my wonderful publishers have been busy promoting in Europe! I am very, very proud to say that our new publication, "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" is now available at the wonderful 25books in Berlin and the amazing Book Store in The House of Photography at Deichtorhallen Hamburg! It is a complete honour to have the publication with such incredible stockists!

25Books describe the book as, " A very peculiar artist book, a challenge for book lovers. A mean game of imagination, curiosity and inhibitions." 



Sunday 1 December 2013

And Final Stop Sydney...



Finally my last stop was Sydney and a well earned break was needed! So off to Bondi I went, to stay with some friends and enjoy all that this new city had to offer and have sometime to see the sights and sit back and relax for a few days. Having been to Sydney twenty years ago, a lot had changed and it was so nice to see all that was new and all that I remembered from my previous trip. So of course I had to head to the Harbour to see the Bridge, the Opera House, pancakes on the Rocks and visit the MCA where Yoko Ono had her new exhibition, "War Is Over, If You Want It." Not being a real fan of Yoko's I was intrigued to see the show and in fact left the exhibition feeling very inspired and found the participatory exhibits very interesting indeed, as one could remove pieces of a puzzle, glue ceramics back together as well as stamping the walls covered with maps! Interesting ideas.  


After a few days visiting the sights, back to Bondi to truly take sometime to stop and relax. It was quite amazing waking up every morning to 1 hour meditation and a 10 minute walk to the beach. Then to take 30 minutes to do the coastal walk from Bondi to Bronte and have breakfast in one of the many brilliant little cafe's alongside the beaches, true bliss! Bondi is as trendy as I expected and a completely different life to that in London, as the relaxed atmosphere, sea air makes for the most warm and friendly folk, I don't think I have seen so many happy people in one city! A wonderful time was had and ending with a wonderful dinner at Icebergs over looking Bondi at night, a massive thank you to my amazing friends who made me smile every second of everyday, it was a pleasure sharing it with you, miss you already! 

Then it was back to the airport for the flight home, 23 hours then I flew into T5 early morning to the misty, magical city London, and its good to be back, much was learnt and much planned for the future!

Second Stop Melbourne...



So my second stop brought me to Melbourne for a Workshop working with the Asia-Pacific Photobook Archive and an Artist talk at the Edmund Pearce Gallery. The trip was only a short one, with 2 days in the city, just enough time to meet and work with some lovely people and the see the sights/ night life delights of Melbourne!

The Workshop was a complete success, working with a small group of lovely ladies as well as Daniel from the Asia-Pacific Archive. The workshop was centred around the idea of appropriation, using the book format as both the raw source material as well as the resolution. Working with found material, books from Australian op shops brought a wealth of inspiration for all, both historically and culturally a new insight for my own practice also. The participants excitement, openness and talent made for a very enjoyable day, whereby the end saw completed book dummies presented and some really interesting ideas and books where made, so huge congratulations to all. It was a pleasure to work with all the participants and not to mention, sharing the night life of Melbourne too... especially the Gin Palace, Cabinet and The Supper Club - great end to a great day!


The next evening saw my artist talk with the wonderful Dan Rule from Perimeter books and the wonderful Heidi Romano from Unless You Will at the Edmund Pearce Gallery in the city centre. The talk was very interesting indeed, with some great questions and very good audience participation. Having Dan Rule, director of Perimeter books bringing forward some insightful ideas around publishing and Heidi's thoughtful analysis of my practice, made for a very well balanced and honest talk around my practice and book making. A thoroughly enjoyable evening indeed! 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in my Melbourne trip, you made it a pleasure and shared with me all that the city had to offer, so thank you so very much. For those who haven't yet visited Melbourne, it is one to see if in Australia.

A few links of interest here: 

Thursday 28 November 2013

Back And Much To Tell, First stop Brisbane...



So after a very long 23 hour flight, I arrived back at T5 early this morning to a very cold London, something I had forgotten as although the weather in Australia wasn't always brilliant sunshine, it was warm indeed! There is much to tell as I recall my trip, so much happened with the time just flying by as I flew in and out of 3 cities for work and pleasure. So first stop, Brisbane. I arrived to sunny skies in the early morning and spent a few days seeing friends and family, visiting the wonderful Surfers Paradise (just like I remembered 20 years ago) but much more built up and taking in the sights, which of course include the famous Crab sandwiches at The Spits. The city itself is relatively small with only 2 million people,  as you take a City Cat at dusk along the river, amazing views await you as you wind along the water underneath the wonderful Storey Bridge into the Southbank for dinner.


Then onto work, with a great talk at The Queensland Centre of Photography, which is a brilliant space in the centre of Brisbane with the wonderful Maurice and crew who made for a very relaxed and welcoming venue for my first talk in Australia. I would like to thank everyone who assisted with the organisation and all who came to the event, it was great to spend sometime meeting you all, and I will be sure to return soon! If you haven't seen QCP, take a look, as they have some interesting things planned and have a great collection of books. You can see more here: http://www.qcp.org.au/


With only a few days in Brisbane, much like my entire trip, it was important to get as much packed in very day as possible, also thus helping with the jet lag! So back into the city to spend sometime at the galleries and especially GOMA, Queensland's Centre of Modern Art. The building itself is incredible with hugh glass windows facing onto the River, letting that Queensland light pour in, (which if you haven't been is something quite extraordinary) its so bright even in full cloud! As I wondered around the rooms there was much on show, including the install of Cai Quo-Qiang's new exhibition, which sadly opened on the 23rd, which I missed. If you are around, you must make a trip, it looked very special from what I was witnessing of the install. A few artists worth mentioning are Latifa Echakhch, Lee Mingwei, Robert MacPherson and Gordon Bennett. Echakhch's piece above on the left, was a truly brilliant installation of paint and alcohol, which spilled onto the ground, filled with poetry and memorialism of lives lost, completely moving and stunning.  So with little time left, it was off to the airport for my next leg, Sydney for 1 day then, then onto Melbourne.

Monday 11 November 2013

London - Brisbane - Melbourne - Sydney...



So the time has arrived! Many a long night preparing for this trip, but I am very excited and pleased to say it is finally here and I leave for Australia tomorrow. It is going to be quite a trip with 17 days, 7 flights, 2 talks and a workshop, in 3 different cities, but what an adventure to be had.

First stop will be Brisbane with an Artist Talk at The Queensland Centre of Photography, see here for more details: https://www.facebook.com/events/321412667996768/?ref=5

Then onto Melbourne for a Full Day Workshop and Talk, working with the Asia-Pacific Photobook Archive, see more details here: http://photobookarchive.com/workshops/

Finally onto Sydney with many meetings and hopefully a little bit of rest too on Bondi Beach!!!

Thursday 7 November 2013

Sneaky Peaks!


 Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac

If you haven't yet seen my new publication, "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" then you can now have a sneaky peak at what you can see in this great video produced by the photobookstore.co.uk. It shows you what you can expect of the publication, but also a little bit more, it's certainly not vague!

Click on the image or the link to see more: http://vimeo.com/78615563

Miss Titus' Stockists are...




Very, very pleased to announce that my new book, "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" is now being stocked with the wonderful Claire de Rouen Books and the excellent Photobookstore.co.uk as well as with my incredible Publisher, b.frank books, don't miss out on getting your copy!

See here for direct links to all stockists: 




Wednesday 30 October 2013

First Reviews In Already!


Very pleased to see and hear that the reviews of my new publication, "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" are coming in already! Josef Chaldek writes;
  
"Too long have we held the highest flame for truths within photographic 'representation'" - Brad Feuerhelm in his foreword to Melinda Gibson's "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" (b.frank books - Roger Eberhard), a book that in every sense you have to work yourself "into" it. I confess I opened the (french fold) pages to not just peek behind the back of photos! Will spend more time with it, just to share the joy (of even the "unboxing") - have a look at this wonderful book.”



Tuesday 29 October 2013

Publisher b.frank books launches "Miss Titus"






Very, very, very proud to announce that my Publishers b.frank books officially launched our new book, "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" on their website today!!!

Make sure you check it out to see the publication and all the details for ordering the books here: http://bfrankbooks.org/product/miss-titus-becomes-a-regular-army-mac

A list of Stockists coming very soon indeed, keep watching for more information.....

Saturday 26 October 2013




This week, on Tuesday the 22nd October at 16:30, saw my first twitter interview with Genesis Imaging. It was a very interesting way to be interviewed, as you are obviously restricted to 140 characters for an answer, so your thoughts and answers are thought about in a different way. However I did roll over to a few tweets for those impassioned answers, where 140 wasn't nearly enough!!!

With questions and answers like this; 

Genesisimaging: How do you hope your work will be perceived by future generations?

Melinda_jgibson: Another impassioned answer! I think it's important not to focus on 'legacy' or how you want to be perceived, I think...

Melinda_jgibson: ...that leads to failure. I live and work in the present and for me if audiences see and appreciate my work than that is..

Melinda_jgibson: ...is all I could wish for, ultimately I do what I do because it makes me who I am and I wouldn't be Miss Gibson without it!

If you missed it, then look here for the interview in full and make sure you get involved in the next one, they have a great list of contributors: http://www.genesisimaging.co.uk/blog/askmgibson/


Thursday 24 October 2013

Asia-Pacific Photobook Archive - Workshop & Talk 20th & 21st November 2013 in Melbourne, Australia


 

I am very pleased to announce that I will be working with the Asia-Pacific Photobook Archive along with Unless You Will in November, as I do a Full day Workshop and Artist Talk over two days in Melbourne, Australia! 

The workshop will focus on photographic self-publishing, working with appropriated images and collaged-based production in contemporary photographic practice. Running from 10:00 am until 17:00 pm and are very limited, with acceptance of only 8-10 places. The workshop will be both insightful and exciting, as each person is really encouraged to produce new work, exploring how the photographic medium can offer up endless possibilities, as it twists and turns through the hands of each participant. The location of the workshop will be announced shortly. 

The artist talk, I will be in conversation with Dan Rule, director of Perimeter Books and writer for The Age and Vault as well as Heidi Romano, director of Unless You Will. The conversation will provide an opportunity for me to discuss my practice, current and future projects as well as answering insightful questions from the panel as well as from the audience. I am looking forward to what will be asked from both Dan, Heidi as well as the listeners! The talk will be taking place at the Edmund Pearce Gallery from 18:30.

For more information, please view here: http://photobookarchive.com/news/



Monday 21 October 2013

Frieze Art Fair 2013



"Art fairs may be all the same, filled with schlock, shiny things, grim things, and things that make you wonder why galleries across the globe bothered to drag them all the way here, but there's always something to brighten your day as you wander the aisles. The 11th incarnation of Frieze is more manageable than most, with better lighting, wider aisles and a bigger spread of behemoth mega-galleries and startup spaces, young galleries and old lags. Not that the art is necessarily better, though the galleries seem to be trying harder this year." Adrian Searle

As Adrian puts it and so correctly, this years Frieze was indeed much more manageable, and what a great surprise and delight that was, I left without a headache from the lights, but this time from too many a Hix fix, a much better way to endure one! Friday saw me head out to Regents Park and descend on both Frieze London and Frieze Masters, to work my way through thousands and thousands of artworks from the worlds galleries, representing the best in the contemporary and the masters. As you arrive, through the many VIP cars stationed outside, the queues of visitors, what always strikes me is that we have now reached Autumn, Frieze for me always says, golden leaves, bright blue skies, a slight chill in the air and of course, artworks in tents! 

This year for me, I started alone, looking at everything in great detail, spending hours walking up and down each widened corridor, using the time I had to myself, silently taking in all the surroundings and having a plan of action, section, by section. Frieze London was first, and as I wondered through the fair, many wonders greeted me and I was absolutely thrilled to be so inspired by what I was seeing, rather than the usual overwhelming experience. There were many artists whose work I found, but a few to mention are surely, (shown in the photographs above, left to right) Hayley Tompkins at The Modern Institute, Dirk Stewen, Edith Dekyndt at Carl Freedman Gallery, Mary Westerford and Wien Lukatsch Gallery. I am always extremely excited to see The Approach, Maureen Paley, The Lisson Gallery, Matthew Marks, Gavin Browns' stands as well as many others, the list goes on!

For me these artists I mentioned above really stuck something with me, and now on reflection they are mostly women artists, which makes me smile indeed! I found that these works had a real sense of touch, a sensitivity to their chosen medium that felt honest, true and powerful. Each piece in its own way pulls you deep into the core of the painting, into the drawing which excites and inspires me. Tompkins paintings onto plastic are absolutely stunning and Westerford's large scale canvases with neon tubes have such an energy and movement, I became fixated on them. Wien Lukatsch Gallery presented a beautifully curated stand, showing a selection of their represented artists. 

After a very successful Frieze London, I took a lovely stroll up to the Masters, where I enjoyed the much slower, more gentle atmosphere, having some lunch then looking at the classics. It was rather incredible walking from stand to stand, seeing Miro's here, Picasso's there, Renaissance paintings everywhere and a Michelin starred restaurant! For me, it was wonderful to see Robert Motherwell's "Brushy Elgy" painting, a sight that is too beautiful for words and Baldessari's which will forever inspire and excite me, the man is a genius. A truly different experience from the original fair, but a great addition to Frieze.

Then the early evening comes around and I meet with up with a good friend/collector of mine to enjoy our thoughts on the fair, talks and performances as well as a good few cocktails at Hix. As the evening draws to a close, it had been a delightful day and a fabulous evening, Frieze provided all that I had anticipated and much more.


Thursday 17 October 2013

Normal Edition in A Limited Run of 120 Copies



“Cleverly placing the images inside bound pages also creates a permeable, yet physical question of the viewer. That which is to destroy the pages in order to “see”, which at its base is what photography has come to be about: That of the forced spectacle.” Brad Feuerhelm.

Melinda Gibson in collaboration with Kummer & Herrman produce a publication from the visual source material of Brad Feuerhelm’s Archive collection. The resulting publication is a limited, handmade book that is both mysterious and clever witted in its design. You are encouraged to look, open, tear the very pages the images are printed on, revealing others hidden behind.

The images above are from the Normal Edition, a limited print run of 120 copies and each and every book is signed, dated with the time of completion, location as well as a surprise revelation in each book. The foreword, written by Brad Feuerhelm is itself hidden within the insert cards that make up the front and back covers. At every stage, this publication offers up new ways of seeing and reading photography in all its guises. 

A list of stockists will be available very soon.....

Friday 11 October 2013

The Tate In All Its Glory - Mira Schendel




Last weekend I took a special trip to meet a friend at the Tate Modern and we experienced not only a stunning view over the city sipping prosecco, but a truly unbelievable exhibition of an incredible female artist, Mira Schendel. Born in 1919 in Zurich to parents of Jewish heritage, Schendel was brought up in Italy and was later forced out of Milan and stripped of her Italian nationality resulting in her having to end her studies and pass through countries as a refugee. It was not until 1949 that she ended up in Brazil and began her inspiring career as an artist.

Schendels' work explores ideas surrounding aesthetics and philosophy, using asymmetrical shapes, mathematics, text and varying medias to examine the ideas of existence and experience. Her works have a fragility, a tenderness, a quietness that is so beautiful, as you wonder through the exhibition, every room you enter you are taken by her ability to master each and every medium she touches. The use of graphics, layout and lettering in her books, book covers as well as her larger scaled installation pieces are gentle yet powerful. You get a real sense of the women behind the works, as the sense of touch places an intrinsic role. The works on rice paper, for me took me to another world, a place where silence spoke louder than noise and where the Eastern influence meet the South American in such a gentle manner, a coexistence of ideas and ideals. 

Another piece that stuck me was the work titled, "Still Waves of Probability" which was an installation made up of almost transparent fibres along with text from the Old Testament 'Book of Kings' previously made for the 10th Bienal de Sao Paulo in 1969. These long, thin fibres, acted as a wall of diffusion, a mist to the other side. As they touched the floor, they flicked up and the curvature of their form resembled a Japanese drawing of the ocean, small waves on a wooden floor, truly stunning in each and every way.

Every work was a wonder and I can honestly say that I haven't been moved, inspired on so many varying levels, physiologically, creatively like this for so long that it has to be one of the most beautiful exhibitions I have seen all year, but almost years. For anyone who hasn't yet seen the show, it is a must and one that will leave you feeling fulfilled for months and shows the power of making great work.


Friday 4 October 2013

Releasing My New Book... Day 5



Finally, Day 5 sees the release of my new publication, "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac." I am very, very proud of this collaborative partnership, working with the incredible Kummer and Herrman and published by the wonderful b.frank books this book is a true and honest publication that conceptually explores the notion of what it is to really 'see' and 'understand' with a firm nod towards the themes that surround book publishing, as you are presented with a question, to cut open or to leave closed?!

The book is in a Limited Edition of only 120 copies and a Special Edition of only 20 copies. Each and every book is handmade by I, (Melinda) and is signed and dated with the time of completion and location. The Special Editions are boxed, as above and have two photographic prints hidden inside the folds! My publisher, b.frank books will be stocking the publication directly from their website and other distributors I will release at a later date.

Additional press images will be available shortly of both editions including interior shots.

For all book sale enquiries please contact the studio at: studio.melindajgibson@gmail.com

Thursday 3 October 2013

Book Making Performances... Day 4



Day 4 brings us to the two performances that I did at two different locations over the Unseen Photo Fair. The first, was at the exhibition space, in the MC Theatre on the opening afternoon, where I undertook the casual live performance for 2 hours, making the books from start to finish. 

The second performance was at the Unseen Living Room, which lasted a refined 30 minutes, and saw the polished, formal performance. An introduction to both the project and concept by the curators of the "Unnatural Selection" exhibition, Brad Feuerhelm and Daniel Campbell Blight. Then an interplay of live book making alongside music, and projection, whereby the letters of the title where projected at intervals, demonstrating how language can be miss construed and inform different contexts/ ideas depending on the time you see the letters. This mixture of sound, projection and performance made for an incredibly strong setting as the audience came up around the table to see the live book making and as if choreographed, circled and engulfed the table. 

The action of making is so powerful and with all elements produced right in front of your eyes, the concept is truly emphasised and visualized. The live cutting/ knife action proved incredibly effective as new images were revealed and discovered through the splicing opening of Japanese folds.

Watch this space for more on the publication and for further live performance events worldwide....

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Unseen Dummy Award Judging... Day 3



So Day 3 brings us to the judging and what an honor and experience this was. Sharing the judging panel with the likes of Todd Hido, Jorg Colberg, Hans Gremmen, Paul Van Mameren and Shinji Otani was in itself interesting and inspiring as each one of us offered something very different from the others.

We entered a room called The Chapel and what an incredible room it was, with concrete walls and sun that shone through the windows onto the books, it was rather magical, mystical and really set the mood for the next few hours.

With 48 shortlisted book dummies, the list was a mixture of highly professional, designed, almost published books to others that had been stuck, bound, glued and very much handmade. With nearly 50 books, you would of anticipated an array of styles, themes and concepts, but the overview was quite similar with only the odd few offering an alternative. For me this was the first surprise, I eagerly awaited a raw, conceptual overspill of book dummies, but instead found an overspill of gentle thoughtfulness often in high production, in terms of specification and content. But I think this is an important point to make, with the influx and ease of making books, often projects are produced into publications, when in fact their strengths and concepts are better suited elsewhere. As a producer of artist books, my need to make only a handful of books differs greatly from that of a publisher or many other photographers out there that want and need high production runs and sales. This is definitely food for thought!

After hours of looking through the selection, in almost silence for the first half, we started to move books around and make comments about what we had expected, found and wanted to see more of. Considering the varying backgrounds we all come from, a united strength and vision arose. Within the next few minutes there was an eruption of sound as we found our common ground.

Having finalised the shortlist to 5 books we worked hard and harder on the decision to chose the winner  What was very interesting was the shift between 2 books for almost an hour as we deliberated the term, 'Unseen Dummy' and whether Conception or Photographic strength would prevail first. Being part of a panel throws up many exciting discussions, some all in line, others not, but what we all found strength in was a book that truly understood its audience, its design and that the imagery was beautifully shot, the winner Heikki Kaski. If we could of chosen 2 we absolutely would of done, but Kaski had this element to his book that we just couldn't stop picking up and looking at again and again. And to this moment, I can still recall those birds circling in the sky, hidden between two orange sheets - beautiful! 



"Unnatural Selection" Exhibition Opens... Day 2




Next on the Unseen unravel is the opening of the exhibition, "Unnatural Selection" curated by the wonderful Brad Feuerhelm and Daniel Campbell Blight. Here is a little excerpt from the press release. "This exhibition sees nine contemporary female artists delve into photography collector, dealer and writer Brad Feuerhelm’s personal collection of peculiar documents. Either by directly re-using, appropriating or re-engaging images; or by selecting their own previously made work that shares an oblique stylistic relationship with the collection, all the images displayed here attest to the seemingly endless and potent lure of the vernacular and its relationship to contemporary photographic practice."

I presented my new project, "Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac" for the first time as both an installation and a new handmade publication. The process for me has always been, and is very much part of my practice, so with this in mind it was very important that each and every element of the new publication was exhibited. The exhibits show the broken down elements of the book, from the flat printed sheets delivered on the pallet, to the insert cards boxed up, to the handmade vitrine displaying the newly finished books. This raw and honest display nods to the growing and exploratory nature of  self publishing and how process is becoming ever more important in contemporary artistic practice.



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