At 8 x 11 mm, the Minox has the smallest-sized negatives in analog photography, Mark van den Brink cuts the polyester film to size himself before loading it into his Minox camera. He bought the camera with the idea that it allows you to photograph the things around you inconspicuously, like a voyeur. During his training at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, he became captivated by the distortion, rough structure, and imperfections that resulted from making prints in the darkroom. It felt self-evident to his way of looking. On a trip through the Alps, he experimented by fastening his camera to binoculars or a telescope, so that the mountains felt close and at the same time even further away. ‘The Minox Files’ embodies this raw curiosity.
Van den Brink does not plan his images: he recognizes them when he comes upon them on location. He is seeking and observing. Van den Brink works in experimental yet unpretentious manner, in a style of poetic diary-like images. He purchased the camera thinking that he could – like a voyeur – inconspicuously photograph the world around him, even from the comfort of an easy chair. This book takes you on several rambles that break with the classic romantic vacation, including Van den Brink’s voyage down the Meuse River and walks along the decommissioned 38 km La Petite Ceinture railroad track in Paris, as well as his unforgettable meandering strolls through North Amsterdam.. His 12-years-long archive Minox Files consists of 15,000 photographs. In collaboration with publisher Willem Van Zoetendaal, the book The Minox Files was created out of 350 images from that archive.
author: Mark van den Brink
designer: Willem van Zoetendaal
©2021 Van Zoetendaal
hardbound, 384 pages , ills colour FC + Duotone, 11.9 x 15,3 cm, English
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The Minox Files is again part of Test Press Books #3 at KO-OP / 12*-22 Oct 2023