Read with us No.07 - Other notions of family

Cafe Đen 15/06/2023 Giáo dục & workshop

We are stoked to introduce Read with us #07: Other notions of family. This showcase includes publications from Reading room, a new space dedicated to artbooks in HCMC, selected by its founder Long Nguyen.

Family has long been a go-to subject matter for many photographers, possibly because of its easy availability and accessibility. Photographing family members is traditionally an act of celebration and commemoration, but can it also be an act of grief.

The collaboration between the photographer with the members can go from familial and social to commercial and political. Is the artist the witness, participant or performer in such collaboration? Does the practice tamper with the bond, and how to make peace with that? Does kinship equal consent? How does the artist document different relationships within a family? What about biological vs adopted relationships? What about different types of families, be it nuclear or extended? What is family after all?

This selection of 11 photobooks centers around those questions and concerns. It offers a glimpse into how photographers from various social, cultural and religious backgrounds think of and document families. Obsession and ignorance. Peace and conflict. Bond and separation. Life and death. To photograph family is to reflect, explore and reconcile.

Read with us #07: Other notions of family

+ Curated by Long Nguyen from Reading room

+ Time: 05.06 - 02.07.2023, 07:00 - 19:00 daily

+ Location: 2nd floor of Sóng Sánh Cafe, 48 Ngoc Ha, Hanoi

+ List of books:

Cui cui - Rinko Kawauchi

Cripian honey cathedral - Raymond Meeks

The Eighth Day - Gaoshan

Family - Masahisa Fukase

The Adventures of Guille and Belinda and The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer - Alessandra Sanguinetti

Pia - Christopher Anderson

Raven - Masahisa Fukase