SPAZIO LABO’ PHOTOBOOK CLUB SEASON 1 – EPISODE 3 YOU CHOOSE THE BOOK!

For the third episode of the first season of Spazio Labo’ Photobook Club, we decided to involve our audience in choosing the photobook we’re going to talk about. The four candidate photobooks are selected among the 5 chose by photographer and visual artist Petra Stavast, who is currently exhibiting her project S75 at Spazio Labo’ gallery.

How can I vote?
Visit Spazio Labo”s Instagram page and vote in the active poll

The poll will be active until Sunday, May 19, 2024.

Find out some words by Petra about the selected books:

Sebastián Bruno , TA-RA
I got to learn this book through Ediciones Anomalas, whom I really admire in their overall choice of projects they publish.
The portraits of Sebastián Bruno leave me confused and amazed, wondering of how the photographer encounters people by chance and manages to create intimacy and trust, perhaps even surrender, in what appears to be a brief moment of what I wouldn’t call posing but rather being together.

Bertien van Manen, ARCHIVE
Being a fan of the work of Bertien van Manen from the moment a teacher showed me in art school, I appreciate the extensive insight into her archive. For me, it’s a guide next to the books she has made from her individual projects. Her sincerity in being with and observing people, combined with (what I interpret as) a lack of interest in controlling the technique, perfectly falls into place.

Tacita Dean – Landscape, Portrait, Still Life
For a long time, I didn’t fully understood the work of Tacita Dean but even so, I found it very intriguing. I kept this state in tact for a long time until I found this book, where her work is explained in a categorization of the Landscape, Portrait and Still Life. A seemingly banal subdivision that is executed in a manner that is both straightforward and refined. This book relieved me from my lack of knowledge plus it made me realize that subdividing different components within one body of work holds great value, something I previously found difficult to acknowledge.

Sanne van den Elzen — Today, too, I experienced something I hope to understand in a few days
In this series of cut-outs of moving images made by Sanne, she unambiguousl puts her focus on little gestures in body language, as part of the larger gesture of an encounter. In her work, only in the movement of a finger you can trace ones hesitation, tentative approach, seeking of proximity.

Batia Suter – Parallel Encyclopedia
This book and its sequel, both hefty volumes, satisfy my almost addictively feeling of gaining control over an archive. An infinite archive in this case, with diverse origins, yet brought together make perfect sense, emphasizing their uniqueness and cohesion. It’s a celebration of beauty of the most divers yet unaligned imagery. The compilation Batia made, to me feels like a superhuman act!