Tropical Reading: Photobook and Self-Publishing 2nd Edition

Tropical Reading: Photobook and Self-publishing (Second Edition) emerges from Fotobook DUMMIES Day’s field research across Southeast Asia, offering an insider’s exploration into the realm of photography practitioners , artist collectives, independent publishers, art bookstores, spaces and organizations. This publication is the first monograph focusing on Southeast Asia through the lens of photobook and self-publishing.

At the end of 2019, Fotobook DUMMIES Day conducted interviews with photography practitioners and publishers across Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Manila, Laguna, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Yangon. The paper spaces they created  through books reflect the abundant visual and cultural landscapes of Southeast Asia, while simultaneously revealing a resilience shaped by the unseen boundaries of censorship and the absence of governmental support.

The second edition restructures its narrative through the distinctive way of working in Southeast Asian communities, divided into two chapters: A “Dots, Islands” and B “Nets, Oceans.” It aims to represent individual-driven and collective publishing practices, underscoring their adaptive and collaborative characteristics. The book features conversations with practitioners and publishers, in-depth interviews, and comprehensive observations on the landscape of art publishing in Southeast Asia.

Originally published in Taiwan in 2022, Tropical Reading saw its reissue in the Netherlands in 2024. The second edition includes four additional online interviews from 2022, featuring artists and publishers from Bandung, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh, and Singapore, along with an introductory forward by Photobooks& author Matt Johnston.

Fotobook DUMMIES Day was founded in Taipei in 2018, focusing on curating exhibitions, events, and discussions centered around photography and self-publishing, while hosting  a photobook fair under the same name.