No More No Less / 不多不少

The series, “No More No Less”, born from the encounter between Koike and Sauvin. Silver prints made from the album’s original negatives from the collection of Sauvin, were then submitted to Koike’s sharp imagination, who, with a simple blade and adhesive tape, deconstructs and reinvents the images. However, these purely manual interventions all respect one single formal rule: nothing is removed, nothing is added, “No More No Less”. In such a context that blends freedom and constraint, Koike and Sauvin meticulously explore the possibilities of an image only made up of itself.
The resulting images are grounded in Koike’s signature style, but the sharpness of the gelatin silver prints cues a more geometric approach to each piece. The new images appear as optical illusions and fragmented expressions, revealing the genius behind Koike’s gift of preconception. Since the collaboration resulted in such interesting output, it was difficult to accept the idea that No More No Less should end with Koike’s completion of the final piece. After exhibiting the work, Koike and Sauvin brainstormed about what their next steps should be. A publication seemed like a logical move, but they started asking themselves how they could push the boundaries of a standard photobook. “We received many offers from publishers,” explains Koike. “But in the end we decided it wasn’t right to make it into some sort of open contest – we wanted to make something more closed and collaborative.”
Koike and Sauvin decided to make not one, but multiple publications. “We wanted an Italian publisher because Kensuke is based in Italy, a French one because I am based in France, and a Chinese publisher because the original material comes from China,” Sauvin explains. In mid-February 2018, they reached out to Italian publisher Skinnerboox, French publisher the(M) éditions, and Chinese publisher Jiazazhi Press, sending them files of Koike’s completed prints, as well as scans of the original album. Providing them with no information besides these visuals, the duo gave all three publishers free reign to do whatever they wanted with the material. There were only two rules: 400 copies had to be ready for the beginning of November, and the publishers could not contact Sauvin or Koike about their concept or design. All three publishers confirmed their participation within six hours, without any requests for negotiation.

Nine months later, on November 7, 2018, Sauvin and Koike arrived at Polycopies during this year’s Paris Photo for the grand unveiling of the three books. To their excitement, all three publishers had created phenomenal objects, each one incredibly distinct from the next. The grand reveal was a testament to the importance of collaboration, and to the potential of trust and confidence in joining creative forces. It was also poetic validation for Sauvin’s own ongoing emphasis on collaboration, and for why it’s crucial to give creators the space to explore different perspectives and angles with existing work.

Text by Cat Lachowskyj for LensCulture.com

《不多不少》系列源于苏文与小池的相遇。从苏文收藏的原始底片相册里洗出来的照片，被小池以敏锐的想像力，使用简单的小刀和胶带解构并重塑。不过，这些纯粹的手工介入都遵守着一条规则：不删除任何内容，不添加任何内容，即“不多，不少”。在这般融合了自由与约束的语境下，小池和苏文细致地探索着仅由自身构成的图像的可能性。
由此产生的图像以小池的标志性风格为基础，但银盐影像的清晰度为每件作品暗示了一个更几何化的路径。新图像以视觉幻象和碎片化表达的形式呈现，透露出小池预想天赋背后的绝妙。合作造就了如此有趣的成果，故而很难接受《不多不少》项目仅以小池完成的作品而告终。展览结束后，小池和苏文头脑风暴了他们下一步的计划。出版似乎是一个很合逻辑的行动，但他们开始思索如何才能打破标准摄影书的界限。"我们收到了许多出版商的邀请，"小池解释说，"但最后我们决定，把它搞成某种公开比赛不太好，我们想做一些更内部合作的东西。"
小池和苏文打算不只制作一本，而是做出多本出版物。"我们想要一个意大利的出版商，因为小池在意大利；一个法国的出版商，因为我在法国；还有一个中国的出版商，因为原材料来自中国。"苏文解释说。2018年2月中旬，他们联系了意大利出版社Skinnerboox、法国出版社the(M) éditions和中国的假杂志出版社，将小池完成的作品以及原相册里的扫描件发给了三家出版社。除了这些影像资料之外，二人没有提供任何其他信息，任凭三家出版社自由地处理这些材料。仅有两个规则：400份副本必须在11月初准备好； 出版社不能联系苏文或小池讨论他们的概念和设计。三家出版社都在6小时内确认参与，且没有提出任何协商要求。
九个月后，2018年11月7日，苏文和小池在当年的巴黎摄影展期间来到Polycopies参加了三本书的盛大揭幕仪式。令他们兴奋的是，三家出版社都创造出了非凡的杰作，每一本都与众不同得令人难以置信。盛大的揭幕仪式见证了合作的重要性，也见证了信任和信心在联合创作中的潜力。这也是对苏文自身一直以来强调合作的诗意验证，也是对为什么要给创作者空间，让他们在现有的作品中探索不同的观点和角度的关键所在。

Awards

Entered the collection of Centre Pompidou, 2019
Prize of the photobook of the year 2018, La nuit du livre 2019, Paris, France
Shortlisted for the 2019 PhotoBook Awards by Aperture and Paris Photo (Aperture)
One of Simon Baker's best Photobooks of 2018 (Photobookstore)
Best photobook of 2018 by Sean O'Hagan (The Guardian)
Forrest Soper's favorite book from 2018 (PhotoEye)
Favorite Photobook of 2018 by Francesca Seravalle (Lens Culture)

The (M) Editions: Prize of the photobook of the year 2018, La nuit du livre 2019, Paris, France

Publisher: Jiazazhi Press
Softcover
Dimensions: 15 x 21 cm
48 pages, paperback
Date of publication: 2018
Limited edition of 400

Publisher: Skinnerboox
One folded sheet + 2 booklets
Dimensions: 15 x 20 cm
76 pages
Date of publication: 2018
Limited edition of 400

Articles