APE (Art Paper Editions) is an independent publishing platform based in Ghent, Belgium. Founded in 2010 by Jurgen Maelfeyt and Caroline De Malsche, APE works with both individual artists and with institutions, exploring the potential of the book as an exhibition space.

The books found in this selection largely take photography as a jumping off point, many displaying imagery over which the artists themselves have limited control. Found photography is a common theme, as in Jurgen Maelfeyt’s LES PIERRES, which presents photographs of precious stones in their raw forms interspersed in a collection of stock photos of gems and jewelry, or in Paul Kooiker and Erik Kessels’ two publications INCREDIBLY SMALL PHOTO BOOKS and TERRIBLY AWESOME PHOTO BOOKS, which scavenge imagery from books found in thrift stores and antiquaries.

Other artists, playing with portraiture and its implications, give their subjects a degree of control over their own portrayals. In Jan Hoek’s NEW WAYS OF PHOTOGRAPHING THE NEW MASAI, the artist defies traditional representations of the Masai people as ‘uncivilized’ tribespeople, instead encouraging seven urban Masais to engineer their own ideal portraits – the results are a fascinating synthesis of old and new, reflecting the transformation of a culture in the face of changing environments and technologies.

Hana Miletic’s CLASS OF 2008 similarly juxtaposes traditional representation with individual self-image, contrasting the highly formal graduation portraits of 26 Zagreb students enrolled in the only Islamic high school in a predominantly Christian society with personal, playful self-portraits selected and submitted by the students themselves five years later.