book release – “TAXIS PLEINS, TAXIS VIDES” by JSBJ
March 22nd, 2009
JSBJ’s new book “TAXIS PLEINS, TAXIS VIDES” will be released in TTC Gallery the 25 of March
The French photo collective JSBJ or “Je Suis Une Bande De Jeunes” just completed this amazing photo-book which will be released in TTC Gallery.
Among the contributing artists you will find Hannah Modigh who showed her prize-winning “Hillbilly Heroin, Honey” exhibition at TTC this past summer. You can also find Danish Marten Damgaard and Canadian Jimmy Limit who both have several zines for sale in our zine shop.
Along with the release we will throw a small exhibition where some of the best photos will be displayed.
All contributing artists:
ALANA CELII (USA), AURELIEN ARBET (FR), DANIEL AUGSHOELL (IT) ,DUSTIN AKSLAND (USA), HANNAH MODIGH (SE), JEREMIE EGRY (FR), JIMMY LIMIT (CA), KOURTNEY ROY (CA), MARTEN DAMGAARD (DK), NICOLAS POILLOT(FR), PHILIPPE GERLACH (AT), STEPAN HANDZA (UA)
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How and why did you start up Jsbj?
We are a group of friends and we each had a practice of photography, and we were used to traveling regularly together
on “road trips” as we say.
So the idea and the desire to do a common project came quite naturally.
Do you have a certain approach to your work?
Our approach is instinctive, we try to work simply. Without necessarily having to rationalize.
We present photographers and carry out image selections based on our personal sensibilities.
How do you work together as a group?
It is a way for us to share with one another and to conduct a project, none of us would be able to manage alone. Its the opportunity to share all trips, meetings.
There is no real concept of work. Regarding the overall direction, it is something we all do together, although with time some roles have emerged.
Who are the people you represent on your webpage and why do you do it?
They are mostly new encounters. New photographers regularly submit us selections of images, we exchange thoughts with them and we then then proceed to a choice of images that will present coherent point of view with the rest of the site.
In other cases they are friends or acquaintances whom propose us a portfolio.
We are hosting a launch for your new book “Taxi pleins, Taxi vides”
What is the idea behind this project? ..is there a certain theme or concept?
Yes “Empty cabs, Full cabs “is the topic around which we organize the selection of photographers and especially photos that we wanted to have for this publication.
The images refer to a reflection between the empty and the full as two necessary and inseparable notions.
We wanted to offer a singular perspective. Our choices are focused around two criteria seen in the images:
A balanced duality or photographs with no alternatives.
How and why did you chose the artist for this book?
We selected the photographers for their sensibility to the theme and the style of their images.
In addition it was important for us to show a new generation of people: young photographers who are not often pulished.
Who has choosen the pictures and why these pictures?
Concerning the curating of the book, we looked for people whose work we liked and could respond to the topic, with the consideration of our respective sensibilities.
We contacted friends, people with whom we already collaborate on the site, and some arists whos work we had discovered more recently and with whom we wanted to collaborate. It is willingness to put in front of young people who do not necessarily have a high profile.
“Show a new generation” is a goal of JSBJ and to look for photographers outside the traditional spheres such as USA or EU, taking Ukraine as an example.
What role do these pictures play in relation to contemporary photography, in a more general perspective?
To answer this question let me quote the last sentence of the introduction written by Jeff Rian:
“…These are a family of related contemporary images of odd situations, dilapidated structures, and waiting people, many of them quietly. There is hardly even a hint of nostalgia, particularly for the past. Each picture is a subset of a larger perspective about the world right now, whose future remains uncertain and is likely to be very different from the past. For that they wait.”
