Payer Gabriel / Micha Payer, Martin Gabriel

jury statement

★
Austria /// Österreich
★

This monograph by and about Payer Gabriel is an antidisciplinary encyclopaedia that literally lays out its etymological character, presenting a circle of learning in which varying forms of knowledge playfully inform and reference each other. The alphabetically organised terms derive from reflections on the artist’s own work as well as on the accompanying essays exploring epistemologies, visual and otherwise. Within this contextualization, the artworks transcend their status as documentation and develop a life of their own.

The successful interplay of different paper types is not only visually impressive, it also invites readers to flick through and immerse themselves in the pages. The absence of a table of contents allows you to immediately engage with and be captivated by the actual content, which benefits from a cogent and confident page design. With its column heads, the type area calls to mind a dictionary or encyclopaedia. What emerges, however, is a genuine work of art, one whose thoroughly creative concept distinguishes it from pure works of reference.

The skilfully arranged interplay of text and photographs, which are sometimes lithographed onto thin label paper, will surprise and delight book lovers. The ingenious reverse cover alone sets this book apart. A plus minus Z is an enigmatic work that’s simply a pleasure to hold.