Monograph_Tsutsumi

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Initially designed in a format for the advancement of my photographic work, I now consider this monograph to be a convincing autonomous project. Still, it proofs to be a very functional work, providing tangible insights and introductions to my images and ideas and perhaps it could be a starting point for future exhibitions or coproduction. Two editions have been catalogued in the EKWC library recently (EKWC Library) and three more waiting to be selected in other collections and libraries in the Netherlands and Japan.  

“Every meticulously created and designed object changes any offering into something that contains high symbolic value. The Japanese concept of tsutsumi is a very suitable testimonial to this idea. Not because of it's material vulnerability, but for its symbolic ritual: When an object has been given, the recipients' first enjoyment lies in the quality of the wrapping. Without actually opening it, the object already suggests the significance of it's contents through the gentle and precise concealment of the packaging [...]” - Oka Hideyuki, How to Wrap Five Eggs
(Tokyo Wheaterhill 1965)

Each aspect of this Monograph - the materials, colours and technique - resemble the cycles I perform to find any desired configuration. The images that appear do not necessarily reproduce any of the original chemical configurations or artworks, but each step a user has to perform to 'build an image' simulates the recording process.

Conceived, designed and developed with Anthony Siemons