Stranger

This project is an entire book printed on transparent paper! Stranger is a beautiful book of photographs by Magnum photographer Olivia Arthur.

Here are the words about the project, from the publisher, Fishbar:
On 8th April 1961 the MV Dara, a ship carrying passengers between India, Pakistan and the Gulf, sank just off the port of Dubai. An estimated 238 people lost their lives.

Some bodies were never found and relatives of the missing continue to this day to search for their loved ones. Stranger, a new project by photographer Olivia Arthur, imagines a survivor returning to Dubai fifty years later, and what they would see. Through photographs and small anecdotes, the viewer is taken on a journey through a city that is both awe-inspiring and alienating. A city which has grown at breath-taking pace from a population of 90,0000 in the 1960s to over 2 million in the current day, and continues to draw people from all over the world with its promise of riches.

The backbone of the project is the story of the shipwreck, transporting the viewer back and forth in history and acting as a reminder of the fragility and skin-deep nature of Dubai.

Reflecting this fragility and suggesting the feelings of loneliness and disorientation often experienced by residents of Dubai, the book is printed on transparent paper. The result is that the layered images fade in and out of view, interspersed with quotes, memories, and images of the shipwreck itself.

Click on images to enlarge

This is the second published book for Magnum photographer Olivia Arthur and is the result of a residency of the artist in Dubai in 2014.

Concept and book design is by London based designer, Melanie Mues. In her words: "The book is printed entirely on transparent paper, juxtaposing images directly with the help of the show-through. The viewing experience is more like a film or a slide show, supporting the sense of loosing orientation and chronology of events." The book is printed offset litho in CMYK and is section sewn and casebound with a hard cover.

The paper chosen is ZANDERS Spectral White, 100gsm which is from the Reflex Paper Mill in Germany, who also make the ZANDERS Zeta range. Spectral  was chosen for it's uniformity of translucency and high whiteness.

 

The project was recently reviewed on the Grafik site:  http://www.grafik.net/category/case-study/unbroken-view

 

Stranger is printed by Belgian printer, Die Keure, based in Bruges. They are one of the most renowned book printers in Europe and print for many of the high end publishers in Europe.

 

http://fishbar.ph/shop/stranger

http://www.oliviaarthur.com/

www.muesdesign.com

http://www.diekeure.be/nl-be

http://www.reflex-paper.com/en/

Posted by Justin Hobson 06.11.2015

Favourite job of 2011....

Just a quick note to say that I like yesterday's post so much that I've decided not to do another post this week so everyone reads about The Modern House job below (...my favourite job from 2011!)

However, if you get bored, my favourite job from 2010 was this job:
http://justinsamazingworldatfennerpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/magnum-1957.html

Posted by Justin Hobson 27.03.2012

Magnum 19|57

Now hold on to your seats! ...this could possibly be one of the best jobs of the year - and a job with a real difference!

19|57 is a new publication which represents the 19 photographers in the first part of a three part series showcasing the work of the entire Magnum collective (currently numbering 57, hence 19|57). This first book features a wide range of work from the likes of Indian photographer Raghu Rai, the powerful editorial work of Gilles Peress and iconic images by Thomas Hoepecker.

The size of the book is 120x170mm, portrait. The 8pp cover is simply hot foil blocked in matt white foil with a deboss on the reverse on Notturno 170gsm (yes that's right 170gsm - which most people consider too light for a cover but on a book this size with an 8pp cover, it's perfect). The text pages are printed on Omnia 120gsm and it is a great example of just how well Omnia prints, having said that images of this quality would look pretty good on anything!  The high bulk of Omnia gives this 96pp job a respectable 10mm spine which gives the book a nice chunky feel.

So what about this "job with a difference" that I mentioned at the start of this post, I hear you ask?  Well if you didn't notice, the pics of the spreads (pictured above) have something unusual about them, they are lying flat with perfect readovers - how come? 

Well this job incorporates a new 'Layflat binding' technique. It was important for this job in particular, which is designed to work as spreads and it works - it opens completely flat and open - and it doesn't fall apart. To be honest when you see a book opening as well as this, you have to question why anyone would use conventional binding ever again!  See the pics below:

Design is by Crescent Lodge. Creative Director is Lynda Brockbank and senior designer on the project is Andrew Collier ( ...who came up with the lay flat binding idea!) 

Print production, including the layflat binding, was handled by Push Print in London.

Luckily I was able to get hold of some copies of this piece and I posted out some this week (together with a new Omnia swatch), so one may pop on your doormat soon. If it doesn't arrive or you think I've missed you out and would like a copy, please drop me an e-mail and I'll see what I can do (first come, first served!) 

http://www.magnumphotos.co.uk/

http://www.crescentlodge.co.uk/

http://www.push-print.com/

Posted by Justin Hobson 18.11.2010