WATCHED!
—
Book with an optical illusion, also invitation and graphic work for exhibition.
Our brief was to design the book (300 pages) and graphic profile in conjunction with
the exhibition WATCHED! Surveillance, Art and Photography. The book is an extensive compendium of the work of many artists and photographers reflecting upon the impacts
of surveillance. The client was Hasselblad Foundation in Gothenburg/Sweden in collaboration with C/O Berlin, Galleri Image, Kunsthal Aarhus, Valand Academy.
Published by Walther König.
We wanted to make an optical illusion of the cover representing the subject of the book in
a direct/interacting way. At close up it has a vibrant almost abstract effect. At a distance,
the 'eye' on the cover (and reverse side) is clearly visible. We wanted the effect of being 'Watched' in a way that wasn't primarily comfortable. We also wanted the book to be attractive and easy and fun to display to maximise its visibility. We used the proportions
of a monitor for the format. The inlay is designed to be clean and accessible.
We're happy to have been able to create a design that worked fine with all the art and artists it was going to represent. The book got displayed at several museums in the way we wanted including at Tate Modern. It made it into the list of TIME Magazines best Photobooks of the year 2016.
