A year ago I was not really aware of zines or photobooks, then I did a course at Belfast Exposed in April 2024 and it left me inspired and buzzing!
At the time I was near the end of my MA in Fine Art at the Open College of the Arts/OU, and although I wanted to make a zine/photobook for the MA and a solo exhibition I had in March 24, I only managed to make a pretty amateur newsletter. I didn’t have time to do a good job in the MA with a photobook and when I spoke about it early in the MFA, there were raised eyebrows! I think it might have been thought that I was closing down my options for the MFA project too soon and wanting the book to be a sort of final thesis, but that was not my aim. I want to have a running journal, but I want to make a final thesis and hopefully make photobooks or zines along the way and maybe afterwards.
I want to do a dissertation in Photobook form, putting in context, history explanations, references and citations. In parallel I intend to make other photobooks with fewer explanations, maybe just an introduction, but some text.
Martin Parr
Martin is not enjoying good health and instead of coming to Belfast to give us a lecture, we are planning to go to Bristol. The date isn’t set yet, but I wanted to check on his work. I had seen several videos a few years ago and generally knew a bit of background on his images, technique, Magnum, his Foundation etc. However, I don’t want to appear ignorant, or too ignorant, so I looked him up.
I just read this as part of Martin Parr’s bio at Belfast Exposed, “Parr is renowned as a photobook collector and expert. He co-authored a landmark series of publications on the history of the photobook with Gerry Badger. The Martin Parr Foundation, founded in 2014, established its premises in Parr’s hometown of Bristol in 2017. The Foundation supports emerging, established and overlooked photographers who have made and continue to make work focused on the British Isles. It houses Parr’s own archive, his extensive collection of British and Irish photography by other photographers, and a gallery.“
I better get clued up on this if we are going to see him! I bought 3 photobooks, 2 from MP, from the MP Foundation website and I got the first volume of the history of photobooks from Abebooks. I now have loads to read, as well as the pile I got in the last couple of months.
