Play has been nominated for the 2021 Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards in the First PhotoBook Category. The shortlist jury (NY) included Emilie Boone (art historian), Sonel Breslav (director of fairs and editions, Printed Matter), Darius Himes (international head of photographs, Christie’s), Lesley A. Martin (creative director, Aperture Foundation), and Jody Quon (director of photography, New York Magazine).

About Play, the jury had to say:
‘A tower? A rocket? A skyscraper? Taking inspiration from her five-year-old son, Eva Veldhoen turns her camera lens on her child’s toys to contemplate what play means for people of all ages. Her photobook Play is a collection of lively still life Lego constructions treated formally with white borders, but interspersed with full-bleed image details and brightly colored pages. Additionally, the book form lends itself to a sense of motion; when flicking through the pages, some constructions appear to turn or operate. “This delightful book contains a heightened awareness of form and lines, a boldness of saturated colors that are beautiful like candy, along with a surprising elegance,” regards [Emilie] Boone. Presented in large, fun type treatments, contributions of poems and creative writing also appear throughout the pages, complementing the energy, curiosity, and experimentation that this book celebrates.’

Along with the other nominated books (3 categories of 35 books in total, which were selected out of more than 800 submissions), Play will be showcased in the 2021 PhotoBook Awards traveling exhibition that will be shown in the US and internationally, as well as featured in The PhotoBook Review. The exhibition kicked off at Paris Photo in November 2021 and opens in New York in Spring 2022.

[photo by Daniel Salemi]