The distinctive mark of an engaging picture is its power to open up as many questions as answers for its viewer—often in a beguiling, indirect way: it is the viewer who decides and this is what makes a photograph successful. Working on the knife edge of this ambiguity is what I am about. 

The same is true of the tactile, mysterious and very personal act of turning a page: one of the simplest most sublime experiences that the internet will never be able to replicate nor replace. And it is this very simple act where the power of a photo-book lies. 

The magnificence of photography is that it can produce images that incite emotion based on subject matter alone. Coupled with that is the transformative power of placing photographs next to each other and witnessing an additional message emerge from converging contexts, giving rise to the creation of a ‘new truth’. 

While  a single picture can also create new meaning successfully, attempting to string a series of images together adds a tantalising challenge from which a fascinating non-linear narrative eventuates. Quite unlike a conventional text-based story, this non-linear nature of a photographic narrative relies heavily on the subtle art of maintaining the delicate momentum of ‘What happens next?’ at every turn of the page. 

Photographic narratives engage the viewer in a subtle game of seduction, finding the right balance between showing and suggesting, holding and letting go. Making a photobook entails treading that fine line, propelled by an energy of play which hands over meaning-making power to the viewer while leaving the photographer’s unique imprint on the experience. An experience that marks the beginning of a process, opening endless storytelling possibilities.