Jeano Edwards: EverWonderful (signed)

The idea of home, what it represents and what it looks like, is a recurring theme in Jeano Edwards’ practice. Born in Jamaica and now based in Brooklyn, his new body of work and photo book, EverWonderful, quietly mulls over these questions, toeing the line between distance and familiarity as he photographs his home country as a resident of another.
He wants to create images that show Jamaica the way he sees it – focusing on more subtle, beautiful elements. He thinks of the photographs in the book as being soft and quiet. The body of work – which mainly features tender portraits, often set against verdant backdrops and filled with warm, dappled light – feels like a keepsake that encapsulates his relationship with his home country.
There’s a sense of symmetry to how Edwards has sequenced the images in EverWonderful, where leafy framing devices, flushes of colour or the stance adopted by his sitters bring harmony to the pages.
Edwards made the photographs over the course of several years while on trips back to Jamaica. Although the overall tone of the book was carefully considered, he wasn’t searching for anything specific with his camera at the time, and only a handful of the portraits were planned. For the most part, the process of making the images was candid, giving the photographs a relaxed, intimate air that is hard to imagine without a deep affection for, and familiarity with, the country and its population.

 

Please note: This is the second edition, however the first which made it in to the trade officially. The first edition of 100 copies was available through the artist only.

The book was shortlisted for the 2021 Aperture Paris Photobook Awards ( Best First Photobook)

 

Title: EverWonderful (second edition)
Publisher: Sand Dice, 2021
Author: Words by Ryan Christopher & Alice Otiene
Photographer: Jeano Edwards
Graphic Design: Sand Dice
Format: Softcover with flaps
Size: 21.6 x 29.2 cm, 168 pages