I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
I Went Looking for a Ship
BEST DUTCH BOOK DESIGNS
LAST COPIES
  • Natascha Libbert (NL)

 32

205 × 300 mm
160 pages
English
Otastar softcover
TEC056
First edition: 800
9789492051387
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection
  • I Went Looking for a Ship - The Eriskay Connection

Concept and photography:
Natascha Libbert

Text:
Natascha Libbert

Edit:
Michaël Snitker
Natascha Libbert

Text editing and translations:
Emily Williams (logbook)
Natascha Libbert

Translation and proofreading:
Billy Nolan
Vic Joseph

Design:
Michaël Snitker

Lithography:
Marc Gijzen

Production:
Jos Morree (Fine Books)

Print:
GrafiPlaza (NL)
Lenoirschuring (NL)

Binding:
Hexspoor (BE)

Supported by:
Amsterdams Fund for the Arts
ING Collection
Mondriaan Fund

I Went Looking for a Ship is a navigation through the landscape of shipping, following the major renovation of the sea lock in IJmuiden, the most important access to the port of Amsterdam.

Natascha Libbert documents the life inside the technical zone on and around the locks, the port of Amsterdam and the ships. She focused on themes such as destruction and construction, the increasing public invisibility of maritime transport, and the way in which the landscape is constantly changing as a result of shipping. She decided to look for a ship to be able to observe everything from another perspective and to get a grip on this landscape in transformation. Eventually, she took passage on a ship that picks up quarried stone from a mountain in Norway.

In I Went Looking for a Ship, Libbert’s research and logs are the common thread, where the earthly images set the visual tone: sometimes technical, sometimes abstract and poetic. Through the use of archival footage, reference images and research, she not only highlights the history of the locks, but also tells about specific characteristics of the maritime space and the similarities between divers and astronauts.

As she navigated her way through the maritime world, Libbert not only took photographs but also kept a logbook, wrote a glossary, and compiled archival and reference material, all of which collectively document her time at the locks, on the seas and in the port.

I Went Looking for a Ship is a book about a personal quest into the maritime space and the invisibility of its landscape, in which the ships never stop sailing.

Natascha Libbert lives and works in Amsterdam. After several years as account manager at advertising agency FHV/BBDO, she decided to become a part-time stewardess and to study at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK), graduating in 2009. In 2014, she eventually became a full-time freelance photographer. In addition to taking commissions, Libbert also takes an investigative approach to site-specific, personal projects. Natascha Libbert was nominated for the New Photography Talent Award (ING, 2013) and the Dutch Doc Award (longlist 2010), amongst others. In addition, she received a start-stipend from the Mondriaan Fund in both 2010 and 2012. In 2009, she published her first book: Take me to the Hilton.

  • Best Dutch Book Designs 2018

“Libbert’s writing is easily accessible and enjoyable to read, without ever reaching any of the depth that Sekula offers. In terms of the pictures, the opposite is the case. Both artists are adept image makers, but I’m thinking that a wider audience might simply be baffled by the repetitions and also by part of the layout employed in I Went Looking for a Ship.” (Jörg Colberg)

CPH Mag

YOUR CART
  • No products in the cart.