João Linneu
‘JJ VFF VV’
by João Linneu, published by Void.
16,1 × 23,8 cm
416 pages
Silkscreen Otabind Softcover
ISBN 978-618-5479-49-7
Tracing the physical and emotional thresholds of pregnancy complications and premature birth, ‘JJ VFF VV’ is a tender documentation of the birth of João Linneu and Fernanda Fajardo’s first child, Valentín, born in 2014.
JJ VFF VV
Linneu’s photographs are intimate and raw, instinctive and exposing, documenting his partner as her body navigates a challenging pregnancy, moving between the private space of their bedroom and bathroom, onto hospital wards, soon to be shared with her newborn son. Interweaved are photographs taken by Fajardo: self-portraits made when hospitalised and occasional portraits she has captured of Linneu. The cover of the book is an illustration by their son Valentín, who is now eleven, and aware of this photographic record of his coming into life. In ‘JJ VFF VV’ Linneu and his family shape an unprecedented collective portrait of lived experience, revealing a sensitive visual language for circumstances so often shrouded in silence.
“From the perspective of a powerless close witness, this book shows a side of pregnancy that is not usually seen. One that, despite being painful and dark, is still beautiful, powerful, and meaningful. If anything, I want the book to be a very small drop against the stigmatisation of what beauty is, and what a pregnancy is.”
João Linneu
This diaristic record of pregnancy complications is set against Linneu’s static and unforgiving landscape photographs of the city of São Paulo, where he and his partner found themselves having to live and put their life on pause in the months prior to the birth of their child. Austere monoliths and brutal blind façades linger, towering over their intimate lives to become physical extensions of the stillness and inertia imposed upon them. Stillness suffuses Linneu’s imagery. Intertwined with his honest documentation of a painful pregnancy – obscured scans, a shape-shifting body, toilet basins stained with blood – are portraits of his partner lying in bed. Shot on a single day and appearing chronologically throughout the book, the bed – at times absent when Fajardo is hospitalised – holds the passage of time, and the weight of pain and uncertainty shared.
Resisting the constraints of a paediatric intensive care unit where photography was prohibited, ‘JJ VFF VV’ becomes a marker of representation, offering a visual counterpoint to idealised narratives of childbirth. Discovering beauty in the pain they have shared, Linneu and his family create a refreshingly unique portrayal of the emergence of a family unit, and demonstrate the layers of vulnerability that encompass bringing new life into the world.
The Special Edition
Limited edition of 10
Limited edition of 10 copies with 8 signed and numbered Riso Prints.
Dimension: 12 x 18 cm each
Edition of 10 + 2APs
+ Certificate of Authenticity
It accompanies a copy of the book ‘JJ VFF VV’ with a special Riso-printed obi
Limited to just 10 copies, the 'JJ VFF VV' Special Edition includes a set of 8 Riso prints, each individually signed and numbered by João Linneu. Printed on Clairefontaine Ivory Acid Free paper (185gsm), the prints measure 12 x 18 cm each. The edition comprises 10 sets plus 2 artist's proofs (APs), and every set is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Void.
JJ VFF VV
16,1 × 23,8 cm
416 pages
500 copies
Silkscreen Otabind Softcover
ISBN 978-618-5479-49-7
Special Edition
Limited edition of 10 copies
With 8 signed and numbered Riso Prints
Image size: 12 x 18 cm each
Edition of 10 + 2APs
Printed on Clairefontaine Ivory Acid Free paper 185gsm
+ Certificate of Authenticity
João Linneu
João Linneu (1978) is a Brazilian-born, Reykjavík-based designer, art director, publisher, and photographer. Co-founder of Void, he has collaborated with a multitude of artists and art institutions of all calibres. Linneu has designed more than 200 publications, led several lectures and book-making workshops for artists, as also curated photography exhibitions in Poland, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Turkey and Greece. ‘JJ VFF VV’ is João Linneu’s first monograph.
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GREECE, Void
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Photograph: João Linneu, Fernanda Fajardo
Text: João Linneu
Illustration: Valentín Fajardo Prado
Printing: Jelgavas tipogrāfija
Binding: Jelgavas tipogrāfija
Language: English and Portuguese
Font: Courier New
João Linneu © for the photographs and texts
Void © for this edition