069 - Matt Writtle Live: Zen And The Art Of Self-Publishing A Photo Book
© Matt Writtle
Matt Writtle is a documentary and portrait photographer from the Black Country in the English Midlands, now based in London. His practise is focused on “giving a voice to the person who is rarely heard, showing a fresh side to a face that we are weary of seeing, or revealing a world that we never new existed.”
Matt recently published his first photobook, Sunday: A Portrait of 21st Century England. The project documents how people living in England spend their time on this traditional day of rest and challenges the viewer to question the value of leisure time in a digital and consumerist culture: “Sundays evolve as we age; our childhood memories are often held dear and as adults, we associate Sunday with the chance to relax and switch off from work and the world. However, the last few decades have seen a huge shift away from traditional churchgoing, while consumerism and digital culture have changed the way we use our time. So what impact have these changes had on our ability to relax and be with ourselves? And how does the way we spend our leisure time reflect the nature of society in 21st century England?”
This in-depth conversation with Matt covering every detail of the book making process from shooting to marketing - informally entitled (by me) Zen And The Art Of Self Publishing A Photobook Without Losing Your Sanity Of Your Sense Of Humour - was recorded (by him) in front of a live audience at the A Side, B Side Gallery in Hackney, east London where Matt was exhibiting a small selection of prints from the series.
In Episode 069, Matt discusses, among other things:
The genesis of the project
Editing
Sequencing
Doing a book making workshop
Funding via Kickstarter
Book design
Decisions about printing
Using a professional PR person, Iliana Taliotis
The importance of a dedicated website
With contributions from John Angerson
“It was exhausting. I look back and it was exhausting...”
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