The book’s starting point was based on photographs of boulders of the type found at motorway services, in residential areas that have traffic-calming measures, or on shopping mall car parks.

Studies after Nature is an art book designed by Till Gathmann that is an extension of a photo project. Formally it showcases the work as a book of plates, but complements it with the possibility of reconstructing the process that led to the works. It becomes a sort of reference book, with explanations and/or reference systems constructed in the same way as that which is portrayed. The three parts of Studies after Nature refer to conventional photographic/artistic work methods, from documentary-based collection and archiving to the serial representation of a motif in its various stages of development.

Jürgen Bergbauer, *1968 in Straubing, Germany; lives and works in Leipzig.

nominated: Deutscher Fotobuchpreis 2010