Artist and photographer Popel Coumou won first prize for the best Dutch photo book published during the previous two years. In the photo book Paper and Light Coumou plays with photography’s essential elements: light, paper, and the perception of reality.
The winner in the best debut category was Heleen Peeters with her book Horse, which draws readers into the world of the horsemeat industry. The book Bloed & Honing by Nicole Segers and Irene van der Linde won the text/photo book category.
The Dutch Photo Book Award was held every two years under the auspices of FotoFestival Naarden and covered three categories. Through this biennial award, FotoFestival Naarden celebrated the great diversity and quality of Dutch photo books.
The Dutch Photo Book Award succeeded the Kees Scherer Prize, which was presented for the twelfth and final time in 2015.
The awards were an overall prize for the best photo book by a Dutch professional photographer, or one working in the Netherlands (€ 2.500); an incentive prize of € 1.000 for the best debut photo book by a Dutch professional photographer, or one working in the Netherlands; and a € 1.000 prize for the best text/photo book published in the Netherlands. The latter could contain writing about photography, an anthology, a catalog, or photography and text presented in an unconventional context.
The jury on Paper & Light: “In her work, Coumou plays with photography’s essential elements: light, paper, and the perception of reality. By carefully lighting her collages, she gives the paper relief a third dimension, bringing the flat surface to life. An exceptionally tasteful book in which Coumou’s photography has reached a new level.”
