Paris Photo / Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards have released the shortlist for the PhotoBooks of 2016; Paul Turounet's latest Artist's Book, Estamos Buscando A (We Are Looking For), made the list.
This is the most recent in a series of three books by the Artist on the space between the US|MX border. Turounet is concerned with the psychology of place; the difference between what we imagine and what we attain; and, most arrestingly of all, hope. Turounet's work is surprisingly apolitical. Though he addresses the contentious topic of immigration, the power of Turounet's work is its ability to change our relative positions to these issues. In the past Turounet has made books based off passports, where we begin as photographer and end as all the faces we meet on the road. This latest book, Estamos Buscando A references actual guides that are distributed south of the border and interweaves maps and images of migrants with their name and hometown.
The Estamos Buscando A work exists in several incarnations- artist's books, site specific and gallery adapted installations. There are two iterations of the Artist's book: Trade Edition: Book & map in box and Limited Edition: Book and map in box with limited edition retablo (edition of 25). The Estamos Buscando A project initially existed as a site specific installation, where migrant's images were taken in the field and later adhered directly to the border wall itself. In 2005 the artist salvaged sections of the original border wall that divided Playas in Tijuana and Border Field State Park in California. These panels of (old) border wall were adapted into a powerful photo-driven installation that is exhibition-ready.
Paris Photo / Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards were created in 2013 to celebrate the medium's contribution to the evolving history of the media. There are three categories for the award, First PhotoBook, Photography Catalogue of the Year, and PhotoBook of the Year. Selection committee includes Ann-Christin Bertrand, Curator, C/O Berlin; David Campany, independent curator and writer; Lesley A. Martin, Creative Director, Aperture Foundation and Publisher, The PhotoBook Review; Becky Senf, Chief Curator and Norton Family Curator of Photography, Center for Creative Photography at Woodstock; and Christoph Wiesner, Artistic Director, Paris Photo.
Learn more about the 2016 Aperture PhotoBook Shortlist.
Estamos Buscando A (installation) at New Mexico State University