Announcing the 2021 PhotoBook Awards Shortlist
Celebrating the evolving narrative of the photobook, see the 35 shortlisted titles for this year’s Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards.
All photographs by Daniel Salemi
Initiated in 2012, the Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards celebrate the photobook’s contributions to the evolving narrative of photography. Each year, thirty-five selected books are shortlisted in three major categories: First PhotoBook, PhotoBook of the Year, and Photography Catalogue of the Year.
This year’s shortlist selection took place over the course of three days at Aperture’s offices in New York, and involved the review of more than eight hundred submissions. The jury for the shortlist included Emilie Boone (art historian), Sonel Breslav (director of fairs and editions, Printed Matter), Darius Himes (international head of photographs, Christie’s), Lesley A. Martin (creative director, Aperture), and Jody Quon (director of photography, New York Magazine).
“This year’s submissions faced more than eighteen months of unprecedented production challenges in scheduling and labor, access to material, and the uncertainty of another important element in bookmaking—the ability of artists, publishers, and their collaborators to come together,” observed Breslav. “It’s inspiring to witness the resilience of these artists, subjects, and communities. We’ve all had to learn to adapt in order to continue our work, finding new directions along the way.”
The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact made itself known in more than one way, as Martin describes, through “the notable number of very strong, introspective projects that brought forth material grounded in the studio, as well as those drawn from archives and older bodies of work.” This year’s shortlist jury also selected three books as a Jurors’ Special Mention, acknowledging the prevalence of catalogues that responded to canceled shows or reduced audience access with publications that can also serve as DIY exhibitions.
A final jury will gather at Paris Photo this November to select the winners for all three categories. From there, the shortlisted and winning titles will be profiled in The PhotoBook Review (a newsprint publication that will accompany the Winter 2021 issue of Aperture magazine) and exhibited in Paris, New York, and tour internationally thereafter.
Below, see the thirty-five selected titles for the 2021 PhotoBook Awards shortlist.
First PhotoBook
Andrea Alessandrini, Piccola Russia, Witty Books, Turin, Italy
Indu Antony, Why can’t bras have buttons?, Mazhi Books (self-published), Bangalore, India
Archivo de la Memoria Trans Argentina and Verónica Fieiras, eds., Archivo de la Memoria Trans Argentina, CHACO, Buenos Aires
Melba Arellano, Carretera Nacional, Los Sumergidos, Hudson, New York
Wiosna van Bon, Family Stranger, Eriskay Connection, Breda, Netherlands
Deanna Dikeman, Leaving and Waving, Chose Commune, Marseille, France
Jeano Edwards, EverWonderful, Self-published, Brooklyn
Nancy Floyd, Weathering Time, GOST Books, London
Will Harris, You Can Call Me Nana, Overlapse, London
Jana Hartmann, Mastering the Elements, Eriskay Connection, Breda, Netherlands
Joe Johnson, Office Hours, There There Now, Columbia, Missouri
Tarrah Krajnak, El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan, Dais Books, Casper, Wyoming
Luke Le, What are you looking for?, Perimeter Editions, Melbourne, Australia
Kanta Nomura, The Yoshida Dormitory Students’ History, Reminders Photography Stronghold, Tokyo
Sasha Phyars-Burgess, Untitled, Capricious Publishing, New York
Pacifico Silano, I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine, Loose Joints, Marseille, France
Sebastian Stadler, A Close Up of a Large Rock, I Think, Kodoji Press, Baden, Switzerland
Al J Thompson, Remnants of an Exodus, Gnomic Book, Portland, Oregon
Eva Veldhoen, Play, Self-published, Utrecht, Netherlands
Elliott Verdier, Reaching for Dawn, Dunes, Paris
Andrea Alessandrini
Piccola Russia
Witty Books, Turin, Italy
Indu Antony
Why can’t bras have buttons?
Mazhi Books (self-published), Bangalore, India
Archivo de la Memoria Trans Argentina and Verónica Fieiras, eds.
Archivo de la Memoria Trans Argentina
CHACO, Buenos Aires
Melba Arellano
Carretera Nacional
Los Sumergidos, Hudson, New York
Wiosna van Bon
Family Stranger
Eriskay Connection, Breda, Netherlands
Deanna Dikeman
Leaving and Waving
Chose Commune, Marseille, France
Jeano Edwards
EverWonderful
Self-published, Brooklyn
Nancy Floyd
Weathering Time
GOST Books, London
Will Harris
You Can Call Me Nana
Overlapse, London
Jana Hartmann
Mastering the Elements
Eriskay Connection, Breda, Netherlands
Joe Johnson
Office Hours
There There Now, Columbia, Missouri
Tarrah Krajnak
El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan
Dais Books, Casper, Wyoming
Luke Le
What are you looking for?
Perimeter Editions, Melbourne, Australia
Kanta Nomura
The Yoshida Dormitory Students’ History
Reminders Photography Stronghold, Tokyo
Sasha Phyars-Burgess
Untitled
Capricious Publishing, New York
Pacifico Silano
I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine
Loose Joints, Marseille, France
Sebastian Stadler
A Close Up of a Large Rock, I Think
Kodoji Press, Baden, Switzerland
Al J Thompson
Remnants of an Exodus
Gnomic Book, Portland, Oregon
Eva Veldhoen
Play
Self-published, Utrecht, Netherlands
Elliott Verdier
Reaching for Dawn
Dunes, Paris
PhotoBook of the Year
Farah Al Qasimi, Hello Future, Capricious Publishing, New York
Jessica Backhaus, Cut Outs, Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany
Alejandro Cartagena, Suburban Bus, The Velvet Cell, Berlin
Bieke Depoorter, Agata, Des Palais (self-published), Ghent, Belgium
Isaac Diggs and Edward Hillel, Electronic Landscapes: Music, Space and Resistance in Detroit, +KGP, Queens, New York
Muhammad Fadli and Fatris MF, The Banda Journal, Jordan, jordan Édition, Jakarta, Indonesia
Rahim Fortune, I Can’t Stand to See You Cry, Loose Joints, Marseille, France
Lora Webb Nichols, Encampment, Wyoming, Fw:Books, Amsterdam
Gilles Peress, Whatever You Say, Say Nothing, Steidl, Göttingen, Germany
Vasantha Yogananthan, Amma, Chose Commune, Marseille, France
Farah Al Qasimi
Hello Future
Capricious Publishing, New York
Jessica Backhaus
Cut Outs
Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany
Alejandro Cartagena
Suburban Bus
The Velvet Cell, Berlin
Bieke Depoorter
Agata
Des Palais (self-published), Ghent, Belgium
Isaac Diggs and Edward Hillel
Electronic Landscapes: Music, Space and Resistance in Detroit
+KGP, Queens, New York
Muhammad Fadli and Fatris MF
The Banda Journal
Jordan, jordan Édition, Jakarta, Indonesia
Rahim Fortune
I Can’t Stand to See You Cry
Loose Joints, Marseille, France
Lora Webb Nichols
Encampment, Wyoming
Fw:Books, Amsterdam
Gilles Peress
Whatever You Say, Say Nothing
Steidl, Göttingen, Germany
Vasantha Yogananthan
Amma
Chose Commune, Marseille, France
Photography Catalogue of the Year
André Kertész: Postcards from Paris, Elizabeth Siegel, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Bad Ass and Beauty—One Love, Mao Ishikawa, T&M Projects, Tokyo
Mirror with a Memory, Dan Leers and Taylor Fisch, eds., Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
The New Woman Behind the Camera, Andrea Nelson, ed., National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
What They Saw: Historical Photobooks by Women, 1843–1999, Russet Lederman and Olga Yatskevich, eds., 10×10 Photobooks, New York
André Kertész: Postcards from Paris
Elizabeth Siegel
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Bad Ass and Beauty—One Love
Mao Ishikawa
T&M Projects, Tokyo
Mirror with a Memory
Dan Leers and Taylor Fisch, eds.
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
The New Woman Behind the Camera
Andrea Nelson, ed.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
What They Saw: Historical Photobooks by Women, 1843–1999
Russet Lederman and Olga Yatskevich, eds.
10×10 Photobooks, New York
Jurors’ Special Mention: Catalogue as DIY Exhibition
Pass It On. Private Stories, Public Histories, Daria Tuminas, ed., Fotodok, Utrecht, Netherlands, and Meteoro Editions, Amsterdam
Propositions for Alternative Narratives, Photoworks, ed., Brighton, United Kingdom
Take It from Here, Zora J Murff and Rana Young, eds., There There Now, Columbia, Missouri
Pass It On. Private Stories, Public Histories
Daria Tuminas, ed.
Fotodok, Utrecht, Netherlands, and Meteoro Editions, Amsterdam
Propositions for Alternative Narratives
Photoworks, ed.
Brighton, United Kingdom
Take It from Here
Zora J Murff and Rana Young, eds.
There There Now, Columbia, Missouri
The 2021 PhotoBook Award winners will be announced during Paris Photo on Friday, November 12, 2021.
