“However, despite the haze you can still get a concrete feeling for the surroundings” is a book composed of a single photograph. In the publication, artist Erik Betshammar and designer Jonas Williamsson present this image in several ways. From the double structure of the insert to the cover and the deliberately ambiguous title, the elements of the book are closely interconnected.

The photograph appears in two versions: one closer to its analogue origin and another developed further in a digital environment created by the artist. The silver grains of the film base can be perceived on the outside of the pages, while the traces of digital ones and zeroes in the hyper-digital version remain largely inaccessible on the inside of the folded pages.

A third layer emerges from the structure of the book itself. Neither image can be seen in its entirety; the pages reveal only fragments. What is shown is a full-scale reproduction of the photograph, cropped by the format of the book page.

By presenting two representations of the same photograph, the book reflects Betshammar’s working process and raises questions about the idea of the photobook itself: what it is, who creates it, and how it is read.

Awarded “Swedish Book Art Award” 2019.