Matter
Silver medal
This very thick and soft photo book made from recycled paper presents an image series of a global scale that forms an overwhelming stream of consciousness. More than 600 mainly black-and-white photographs taken on four continents over the course of a decade stand without comment, generally one to a page. Although they are always strictly fitted to at least one corner of the print space, the layouts respond skilfully to the formal characteristics of individual pictures through changing sizes and placements. In between are large double-page photographs, with just a narrow white border on the left and right. The pictures are ordered by theme and formal criteria, and there is often a visual or aesthetic link between one image and the next. This creates an enigmatic narrative that can only be decoded with the help of extensive captions to be found in a four-column text section at the end of the book. As the picture numbers used as a reference system are rather unobtrusive, positioned deep into the gutter of the page, referring to the captions remains optional. The attractive volume teases the reader with a column of picture captions on the spine. Although two similar pictures on the front and back cover give an accurate indication of the book’s content, the first impression is pleasingly cryptic.
