Violet Isle by Alex and Rebecca Norris Webb is another exploration of the artistic possibilities of the photobook. Published in 2018 by Radius Books and available through D. A. P. / Distributed Art Publishers (artbook.com), it is a gorgeous, though somewhat delicate paper-covered book of 144 pages, sold with a kraft-board slip cover. The book and its contents are so beautiful, it is worth protecting and handling carefully.
I suppose one would call this a duograph: it displays photographs by both Alex Webb and his wife, Rebecca Norris Webb, taken in Cuba. In the book's afterword, they describe how they began with two separate projects: Alex exploring Cuba's streets, and Rebecca's discovery of
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...unique and sometimes mysterious collections of animals throughout the island - from tiny zoos and pigeon societies to hand-painted natural history displays and quirky personal menageries.
The differences in their respective vision notwithstanding, they presented the images
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...in the spirit of a duet - with its point-counterpoint...
. This co-presentation was enhanced by the wonderful color printing provided by Esteban Mauchi of Laumont Photographics, and overall design by Radius Books. An essay by Pico Iyer is included in the book. The book's text is presented in both english and spanish.
If you are a fan of the Webbs, you should own this book.