What Photography & Incarceration have in Common with an Empty Vase by Edgar Martins. Published by The Moth House.
The three books I've selected this year focus on a new appreciation of documentary photography and the way it presents itself in its absence and its hidden subjects.
Of particular note is What Photography has in Common with an Empty Vase by Edgar Martins.
The twin publications, What Photography & Incarceration have in Common with an Empty Vase, reveal a new aspect of the British prison HM Birmingham, its inmates and their families.
It tries to show by not showing the invisible presence, which is the opposite of the most obvious representation of documentary photography.
Sometimes I ask the artist how to visualize the seemingly invisible, the inner things in his/her work, and this book is also rich in suggestions for that question. The metaphors and allegories are often judged as easy to use, but in fact it takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to research, meet people, photograph, and dare to arrive at this method of expression, and I hope that people can use a little more imagination and will look at the book to understand it better.
Not all of it is usable material, and much of it is not included in the book, but the actions and processes help to create a visually richer context for the book. The years of involvement with the prison and the development of relationships with prisoners serving long sentences make this possible, and there are layers of profound context all over the place.
The other two books are just as great as this one though.
Honorable Mentions:
Yumi Goto is an independent photography curator, editor, researcher, consultant, educator and publisher who focuses on the development of cultural exchanges that transcend borders.
She collaborates with local and international artists who live and work in areas affected by conflict, natural disasters, current social problems, human rights abuses and women’s issues. She often works with human rights advocates, international and local NGOs, humanitarian organizations and as well as being involved as a nominator and juror for the international photographic organizations, festivals and events.
She is now based in Tokyo and is also a co-founder and curator for the Reminders Photography Stronghold which is curated membership gallery space in Tokyo enabling a wide range of photographic activities. In addition to the RPS in Tokyo, in November of 2020, she established a new RPS offshoot “Paperoles" in Kyoto and will lead a full-fledged activity starting in 2021.