Ricardo Rangel’s BB of the Rua Araujo, 1970. (after Brigitte Bardot). Courtesy the artist / AFRONOVA GALLERY. — Ricardo Rangel’s *BB of the* *Rua Araujo*, 1970. (after Brigitte Bardot). Courtesy the artist / AFRONOVA GALLERY.

From January to February 2020, Fotogalleriet will look more closely at the photobook as an exhibition space in Le Book Club, a show unravelling in five chapters over five weeks. In light of this, we reignite our interview series looking closely at book production. We continue this series by talking to the gallerist Emilie Demon about her relationship with the photobook.

The last decade has seen more photobooks than the last 170 years together according to the PhotoBook Museum, a seminar at c/o Berlin last year, Photobooks: RESET, started from the premise that the photo book world is in crisis. What do you think, is the photo book in trouble?

Indeed, there has been a noticeable explosion in terms of publications over the past years. Having collected photo books for 25 years, I do love to browse through the offerings of a network of book dealers and outlets around the world or the publishing sections of Paris Photo, for example. You can see a clear vitality. The internet doesn’t offer the same experience and satisfaction as paper and ink: the smell, the touch… As long as there are people like us around, there will be a solid market for beautiful photobooks.

John Liebenberg, Bush of Ghosts. — John Liebenberg, *Bush of Ghosts.*

There are books we keep coming back to, as references and because a second or third reading can give new insights. Is there a book (or are there books) that you keep coming back to?

In the context of African contemporary photography, there aresome key reference books, like the Anthology of African and Indian Ocean Photography published by Revue Noire under the curatorship of Simon Njami, even though it is now more than 25 years old. I would also mention the catalogue of the landmark exhibition In/Sight at the Guggenheim Museum in 1996 curated by Okwui Enwezor and Olu Oguibe. More recently, there’s the outstanding series of books published by Steidl for The Walther Collection with a number of excellent contributors.

Amongst some of my most treasured photobooks is a signed copy of Ricardo Rangel’s Our Nightly Bread, documenting Maputo’s Red Light District over decades. Rangel was (is!) a monument of photography and we were privileged to work with him. I also have a rare first edition of Ernest Cole’s House of Bondage (1967) – an essential in terms of history and political understanding.

One of my personal favorite and most cherished book is Bush of Ghosts by legendary photographer John Liebenberg documenting life in a time of war in Namibia 1986-1990. It is virtually out of print and I would never let it go. John Liebenberg is a dear friend and an amazing storyteller.

As a curator, how would you work with the book? What is the purpose of the book for you?

I believe that it’s paramount for an artist to have his or her work featured in pertinent publications as much as in the media. Importantly, it’s about documenting and adding layers to the works. The cost of producing and circulating art books is a real limitation. Fortunately, we collaborate with museums and universities internationally who have a culture of books. We’re currently working on two monographs, but it’s too early to tell you about them!

Lebohang Kganye’s Ngwana o tshwana le dinaledi. Courtesy the artist / AFRONOVA GALLERY. From the Walther Collection/Steidl publication. — Lebohang Kganye’s *Ngwana o tshwana le dinaledi. Courtesy the artist / AFRONOVA GALLERY. From the Walther Collection/Steidl publication.*