Mariela Sancari

In photobooks, concept and materiality must work together to create a particular experience for the reader. What experience would you like your reader to have? 

Every decision regarding printing techniques, binding method, kinds of paper, format, size, number of inks, paper weight and transparency, texture and many more will deeply impact not only the project’s visual identity but also the way the book will be perceived by the reader. 

In this workshop we will devote a lot of attention to the conceptualization process, the most important stage in the creation of a book: we will focus on bringing our series of photographs into the book format, exploring the vast and diverse possibilities of materiality a photobook can have, always keeping in mind the idea/concept we are trying to convey.

We will review a wide variety of acclaimed photobooks with a critical approach, aiming to go beyond our personal tastes and preferences and focusing on the construction and development of the narrative and analyzing the numerous decisions the author made to communicate her/his ideas. 

Participants will gain valuable insight into the various creative decisions into the making of their own photobooks.

Throughout the weeks, artists will be encouraged to work committedly on their dummies (physical or digital) to take advantage of the group reviews and the individual mentoring session. 

The aim of the workshop is for each participant to explore the multiple possibilities of translating their images into a book format, exploring its potencial as a medium.

Book as a system. Book as an object. Book as an experience.
We will explore a possible definition of the photobook as a system, as an object and as an experience, articulated via its materiality.

Conceptualization: What experience do we want the reader to have?
We will delve into the most important stage of creating a photobook: conceptualization, analizing the transition of images conceived as a photographic series into the book.

Editing + Sequencing.
We will review sequencing and editing strategies based on conceptualization. Under the premise that editing is creating meaning, we will address different approaches to creating relations between/with photographs and other elements (texts, illustration).

Materiality.
We will focus on exploring the material aspects of a photobook, from the choice of paper type and printing technique, to binding, typography and book size, seeking to test the narrative implications of our decisions.

Production.
Working with a publisher or self-publishing. Quotations from printing and binding workshops, considerations on paper choices, sizes, etc. Financing and distribution.

Review of the book projects.
Thoughtful reviews and insights into the process of conceptualization and editing of the photobook of each participant.

The Online Photobook Workshop consists of 3 group sessions + 1 individual mentorship session: 

The first group session will take place on Saturday, November 7, and we will delve into the critical analysis of a great variety of photobooks, focusing on the various strategies used by the authors to develop their ideas. Then we'll have two weeks for artists to work on their dummies (physical or digital). On the second group session, held on Saturday November 21 we will thoroughly review progress of each participant, providing alternative tools and strategies for the book projects. After that, we'll have two more weeks to continue working on the dummies. The final group review session will be held on Saturday, December 5.

The individual mentorship session can be scheduled in the weeks in between the group sessions. Each artist can decide when to have it, depending on what part of her/his process needs more attention.

Upon registration, we will contact each participant via email asking to send a preview of their project and a PDF or video of the photobook dummy in order to prepare specific references, readings and examples for each project.

The limited number of participants will facilitate a detailed monitoring of each project.

All workshop sessions are taught in english.

Photographers, visual artists, editors, bookbinders and the public interested in the photobook as a medium.

Maximum 8 participants (a minimum of 5 is required).

USD 400

Pay via Paypal here.

When the payment is completed, please send the receipt to this email address: mariela.sancari@gmail.com

Mariela Sancari was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1976. She lives and works in Mexico City since 1997.

Her work revolves around truthfulness and fiction in images, using personal narratives to explore the boundaries of the scope of photography as a means of representation. It refers to the affective dimension, yet not sentimental, of autobiographical work, as well as formal explorations of the medium, through questions related to staging and self-referentiality in photographic practice.

Her first book Moisés (La Fábrica) was selected by several curators and reviewers, such as Sean O'Hagan, Tim Clark, Erik Kessels, Jörg Colberg, Larissa Leclair, Yumi Goto and Colin Pantall, among others, as one of the Best Photobooks published in 2015.

In 2017, she published her second book in collaboration with writer Adolfo Córdova: Mr. & Dr. (This book is true) a photobook aimed for children and youngsters that explores the notion of the unknown through images and text.

In 2020 she will publish The two headed horse. Reenactment in ten acts with Asunción Casa Editora, a book that explores the transit from the fixed image to the represented image.

She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Buenos Aires, Guatemala City, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Sao Paulo, Athens, Barcelona, Belfast, Bratislava, Busan, Houston, Jaipur, Londres, Los Angeles, Madrid, among others.

She is the coordinator of FOLIO, the photobook program and public collection at the Centro de la Imagen in Mexico City.

Contact me: mariela.sancari@gmail.com