We’ve often said that photobooks are the greatest way to learn about the medium and those who came before you. Today, we tell you the quickest means to understand contemporary photography as well as showcase your work to a more serious crowd. It brings us great pleasure to reveal that the Aperture PhotoBook Awards, in association with Paris Photo, have finally unveiled its winners. Chosen from 940 photobooks submitted this year, the 2024 PhotoBook Awards, which comprised an excellent jury, celebrate the role of photobooks in the building of photography. In addition, a shortlist of 25 photobooks is on display at the Paris Photo and will be on view at Printed Matter in New York, too. Without further ado, let’s dive into what makes these photobooks so exceptional.
The lead image is a screenshot of Tsai Ting Bang’s Born from the Same Root.
Photography Catalog of the Year
This title went to Shining Lights, which has been edited by two individuals: Joy Gregory and Taous Dahmani. The photo book is a collection that navigates through the contribution of Black women photographers in Britain. Largely limited to the 20th century, the photobook is the result of years of research and depicts the visual range of Black women photographers. There are over 50 photographers in the publications, alongside their archival pictures, essays from scholars, personal reflections, and more. The photo book is further organized by self-portraits, family, community, activism, and more themes. It won the Photobook Award because it highlights the importance of the contribution of Black women photographers, who have been erased from our collective memories.
First PhotoBook Award
Photographer Tsai Ting Bang, who captured captivating portraits of his older brother, Hsien, an artist, has won the award. Titled Born from the Same Root, the book reflects on the family trauma shared by the brothers. Both men grew up separately, in different homes, while the older brother cut contact with his family due to his mental health. Tsai, thus, uses photography, and by that extension, the photo book, to highlight the mystery of their bonds and the separation. In addition to pictures shot by Tsai, the book also weaves archival family photographs and paintings of Hsien to showcase a holistic view of the narrative. What stands out is the smart use of a bipartite structure, where readers are forced to turn the pages in opposite directions, as if they using a gatefold.
PhotoBook of the Year
Using pixelated screenshots from WhatsApp video calls, photographer Taysir Batniji highlights the challenges faced by Gazens in now-occupied Palestine. The screenshots were captured between April 2014 and June 2017. Still, in the current context of the ongoing genocide, the book, titled Disruptions, becomes a gateway into the fragile daily life affected by the decades-long conflict. The phone is the only source of connection between families in Gaza and those outside, and it works as an emblem of the deteriorating mental health and well-being of Palestinians. The photobook, which has several images alongside text from Taous R. Dahmani, a photo historian, is an essential reminder of life under occupation. The warped portraits, pixelated scenery, patches of color, and the dates of the call all come together to reveal the dangerous nature of human life.
As this year’s winner showcase, these projects leave a different impact in the form of photo books. In a time when social media is affecting our critical thinking, photo books have become a critical way to cut away from the noise and focus on things that matter the most.