Joselito Verschaeve
‘If I call stones blue it is because blue
is the precise word’
by Joselito Verschaeve, published by Void.
Sold out from the publisher.
“The book presents a measured and enigmatic edit of black and white images – of bodies and skin, rocks and the moon, landscapes and birds. Each image hints at different stories, but as a whole, the photobook resists presenting a singular narrative.”
Joanna Cresswell — British Journal of Photography
If I call stones blue it is because blue
is the precise word
Joselito Vershaeve interweaves black and white photographs of both day-to-day encounters and staged fiction from archives of the artist's own work, to create visual short stories which defy conventional interpretation.
The recurring motif of the bird in many forms—as an illustration, origami creation, in-flight or emerging from sand—is interspersed with images of textured rocks, the moon and paths which lead and disappear off the page. The human presence in the images is slight—figures veiled, melding into the landscape or moving out of the frame, a grooved hand echoing the natural formation of rocks—all bit parts in the narrative.
The images have been drawn from the artist’s ever-accumulating archive, and have been selected and arranged in a rhythmic pattern, mimicking the act of writing a poem or a short novel.
“My work leans on day-to-day encounters that are or turn narrative driven. With the idea of building an archive which can fit different themes while maintaining certain interchangeability. With this archive gradually growing it’s possible to move around images and create new narratives.”
Joselito Verschaeve
Drawing upon an aesthetic born from surrealism, the project hints at personal fascinations, alongside visions of dystopia feeding upon the portent of current threats and events. Verschaeave is interested in the idea of ‘magical realism’ and the addition of something ‘extra’ into the common-place and the mundane. Taking the leap and transplanting the genre from literary fiction into black and white photography—the visual language with past associations with documentary and truth telling— Verschaeave layers a veil of poetry over the every day.
The Special Edition
If I call stones blue it is because blue is the precise word
22 x 26,5 cm
80 pages
750 copies
Softcover with Japanese folds
ISBN 978-618-5479-22-0
Special Edition
Limited edition of 20 copies
With a fine art print numbered and signed by Joselito Verschaeve
Image size: 17 x 22 cm (Paper dimension: 19,5 x 24,5 cm)
Edition of 20
Printed on Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag
Joselito Verschaeve
Joselito Verschaeve (1996, Belgium) is an artist living and working in Ghent, Belgium. In 2021 he received his master’s degree from KASK, Ghent (BE), and was selected for the Futures Talent Program (2021).
Sold out
Featured in
-
-
Deadbeat Club – Photobooks of Note 2022 – Giulia Zorzi (MiCamera)
Deadbeat Club – Photobooks of Note 2022 – Kyle Myles (Baltimore Photo Space)
Nowhere Diary – A guide to the photo books you should own 2022
Nowhere Diary – Best Photobooks of 2022 — Part 2 of 2
Photo-Eye — Best Books of 2022
Photobook Junkies — Best Books of 2022
Photobookstore Magazine – Best Photobooks of 2022: Brad Feuerhelm
Photobookstore Magazine – Best Photobooks of 2022: Mark Power
Photobookstore Magazine – Best Photobooks of 2022: Tim Carpenter
-
-
BELGIUM, Karel De Grote Hogeschool
ENGLAND, Charles Seale-Hayne Library, Plymouth University
GERMANY, Fotobus Library
GERMANY, Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, Bibliothek
GREECE, Void
SWITZERLAND, Universitätsbibliothek Basel
USA, Ball State University Libraries
USA, Bethel University Library
USA, Columbia College of Chicago
USA, Johns Hopkins University (Sheridan Libraries)
USA, Metropolitan Museum of Art
USA, MoMA Library
USA, Stanford University Libraries
USA, UNC Charlotte (J. Murrey Atkins Library)
USA, University of Alabama
USA, University of Colorado at Boulder
USA, University of Maryland Libraries
USA, University of North Dakota
USA, University of Pittsburgh
USA, Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries
USA, Yale University Library
-
Photograph: Joselito Verschaeve
Design: João Linneu
Edit: Myrto Steirou
Printing: MAS Matbaa
Binding: MAS Matbaa
Font: New Spirit Regular by NewlynJoselito Verschaeve © for the photographs
Void © for this edition