Photo book advice from Shelley Jacobson

Interview by Lara Wyatt for D-Photo, 18 February 2016

Photobook New Zealand 2016 is just around the corner now, so if you're not situated in Wellington, now's the time to book those flights or plan that road trip to get to the March 11–13 event. In the lead-up to the festival, we caught up with Shelley Jacobson — who will be speaking at the event — and heard her thoughts on the medium of photo books.

D-Photo: What is it about the medium of photo books that you like, and why do you think they’re a good way for photographers to showcase their work?

Shelley Jacobson: As a reader, one thing I love about a well-conceived book of any genre is that it transports me to a world of the author’s making. As an artist, I see the artist-book form as a powerful and versatile vehicle through which to resolve and disseminate my work.

How exciting is it to see an event like Photobook New Zealand come about? What do you expect people who attend the event to take away from it?

I think the organizers have shown great dedication in the development and launch of the festival, and I’m looking forward to multiple events in the programme. I expect it will be a great meeting place for people involved in photo-book publishing and I hope it will initiate others into this scene too.

You’ll be speaking at the event. Can you give us a bit of an insight on what topics you’ll be covering and what messages you hope to leave the audience with?

I’ll be speaking about Open Book, a travelling photo-book show I’m coordinating, which will be making an appearance at the event. I intend to discuss my motivations for the project, some of the books created for the show by participating artists, and the ongoing considerations of book display as we move between quite different gallery spaces.

What has been your personal favourite photo-book purchase that you have made?

Of late I’ve spent much more time poring over books in libraries, shops (including a shop I used to work at), and in digital form online than I have the ones in my own possession. So, to redirect the question, I’d say that publishers who test my resolve to not go into debt for my book habit are Mack, Steidl, and, my online favourite for this week: Van Zoetendaal.

Read the full interview at D-Photo