TAIPEI is a photo book by Yemeni-American artist Ibi Ibrahim, designed by Taiwanese graphic designer Yenwei Liu, and published by Makan.
Taipei doesn't have a reputation for being a quiet city. But it is, at least in the early mornings. This collection of pictures captures quiet urban landscapes on daybreak walks through the city, reflecting its more peaceful side. The artifacts of everyday life appear haphazardly left, but are positioned just so—specifically and significantly—by recent use, a break in the routine, or in preparation for what's next.
Each image has the quality of a stage, waiting for its actors. For a more evocative reading, overlay the scene with the imagined sounds of the location: a distant temple chant, the sound of doves, a low micro-clamor of shops beginning to open, old Mandopop on tinny speakers.
Ibrahim's work, and his perspective as a visitor, bring focus to the texture of everyday life in Taipei. Laundry is hung outside on a pole propped on a wooden ladder—the crisp, pink color of a quilt providing stark contrast to the worn patina of the concrete streets. A lone bicycle stored between traffic barriers against a row of potted greenery is obscured by tarps and car mats that take on the form of a scarecrow rider, when you squint. A tandoor oven for roasting flat breads sits dormant in the open air with its cover and stone weight, not yet fired up for the day's business. An electric fan has been used so fully that its legs have been fastened to its head with multiple layers of duct tape, again and again. Everywhere are signs of use, life, urbanity, and domesticity.
Like Ibrahim, Yun Hai is an observer and lifelong student of Taiwanese culture. We, too have been on many sublime walks in Taiwan, our hyped-up, jet-lagged minds calmed by the city's morning. We've discovered so much in the interstitial, quiet spaces of the urban alleyways, while waiting for the first of the coffee shops to open their doors. TAIPEI is meaningful and familiar, and we're so proud to be a launch partner for this love letter to one of our most treasured cities (and, yes, Edward Yang).
About the Publisher
Makan Press is an artist-run photo book publication house that aims to support the work of immigrant artists and those from countries of conflict and beyond.
PHOTOGRAPHY FROM YEMEN is Makan's debut publication.
TAIPEI is its second.
From the Publisher
TAIPEI; a solo long-form project by Yemeni American artist Ibi Ibrahim. Roaming through foreign streets in the island’s capital, Ibrahim’s extrinsic eye lingers on corners of mundane quietude. The act of archiving memories away from home is fueled by the photographer’s relationship to his own homeland, Sana’a, where a once familiar taste of freedom can no longer be captured due to ongoing war and conflict.
TAIPEI is the second publication by Makan Press, an artist-run photo book publisher supporting the work and expression of immigrant artists and those from countries of conflict and beyond.
About the Author
Ibi Ibrahim (b. 1987, Michigan, United States) is a Yemeni-American visual artist, musician and photo book publisher. He studied photography at the International Center of Photography in New York. Ibrahim’s work explores various thematics surrounding immigration, gender and resilience. All marked by notions of in-betweenness, transition and the diasporic human experience. His work is part of a number of private collections as well as public collections including the New York Public Library, the British Museum, Colorado College, Arab American National Museum, Barjeel Art Foundation and Durham University Oriental Museum, among others. He is the co-editor of the photography book Photography from Yemen (2024).
Specifications and Dimensions
ISBN: 9798218985226
80 pages, Softcover
by Ibi Ibrahim
Designer: Yenwei Liu
Dimensions: 11" L x 8.3" W x 0.6" H / 28 cm L x 21 cm W x 1.5 cm H
Weight: 1.3 lbs / 598 g
