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Back and Forth

Back and Forth

Mariana Rocha

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€30,00 EUR
€30,00 EUR
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"When I close my eyes, I feel the same love/hate between us that was there at the beginning. I wanted to be seen, but now as an adult what I needed was to leave. It all starts in the womb. In my first cocoon, something must have happened." (Mariana Rocha)

Mariana Rocha's Back and Forth portrays the threshold between love and hate. Family ties, new discoveries, griefs, little burdens and letting go occupy the territory of this not to be underestimated little book. A child's chalk drawing of a house - the archetypal home - rendered in pastels shatter the illusion of an independent woman that was beginning to build in these pages. Childhood longings and familial romanticised ideals are hard to shake off. What do we do when reality hits? Glimmers and drapery, shadow and tone sit awkwardly next to fierce self portraits and crumpled cars in a disorienting array of 'becoming' that is far removed from the traditional coming of age story. This is not a book about a particular linear progress, if we are honest about it whose life ever is? This is a punch in the face to the nuclear family icon. The house is falling on its side, the walls are hollow and the lines don't even match up. It's ramshackle, it's impossible to live with, but it's interesting. As Tolstoy insightfully put it "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." (Anna Karenina, 1877)

Sharon Young, 2022

Photographs: Mariana Rocha
Editing and Sequencing: Mariana Rocha and Sharon Young
Design: Dayana Lucas
Prepress: Pedro Guimarães
Production: Tiago Casanova, Pedro Guimarães and Giacomo Alberico
Printing: Gráfica Maiadouro



2022
XYZ Books
60 pages
15 x 22,5 cm
Offset Printing
First edition
ISBN: 978-989-53182-3-0



Institutional Partners:
República Portuguesa
DGArtes (Direção-Geral das Artes)
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This product is designed and sold by — XYZ Books

Country — Portugal

Shipping information — Portugal: Economic (No Tracking): 1.00€ (0-0.99 kg) / 1.50€ (1-1.99 kg) / 4.00€ (2-2.99 kg) / 5.00€ (3-3.99 kg) / 6.00€ (4-4.99 kg) / 7.50€ (5+ kg) - Standard (With Tracking): 3.15€ (0-0.99 kg) / 3.65€ (1-1.99 kg) / 6.15€ (2-2.99 kg) / 7.15€ (3-3.99 kg) / 8.15€ (4-4.99 kg) / 9.65€ (5+ kg) - Fast (With Tracking): 4.05€ (0-0.99 kg) / 7.10€ (1-1.99 kg) / 10.00€ (2-4.99 kg) / 15.00€ (5+ kg) — Europe, UNited Kingsom, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and surrounding regionsEconomic (No Tracking): 6.00€ (0-0.50 kg) / 7.50€ (0.51-0.99 kg) / 10.00€ (1-1.99 kg) / 20.00€ (2+ kg) - Standard (No Tracking): 6.50€ (0-0.50 kg) / 10.00€ (0.51-0.99 kg) / 13.00€ (1-1.99 kg) / 25.00€ (2+ kg) - Registered (With Tracking): 9.10€ (0-0.50 kg) / 12.60€ (0.51-0.99 kg) / 15.60€ (1-1.99 kg) / 28.00€ (2+ kg) — Rest of the World: Economic (No Tracking): 6.60€ (0-0.50 kg) / 11.00€ (0.51-0.99 kg) / 14.00€ (1-1.49 kg) / 16.50€ (1.50-1.99 kg) / 25.00€ (2+ kg) - Standard (No Tracking): 10.00€ (0-0.50 kg) / 17.00€ (0.51-0.99 kg) / 22.00€ (1-1.49 kg) / 27.00€ (1.50-1.99 kg) / 35.00€ (2+ kg) - Registered (With Tracking): 12.60€ (0-0.50 kg) / 19.60€ (0.51-0.99 kg) / 24.60€ (1-1.49 kg) / 29.60€ (1.50-1.99 kg) / 40.00€ (2+ kg)

About — We'e XYZ Books, a Lisbon based independent publishing house. We focus on publishing high-quality photography books, often featuring the works of contemporary photographers. XYZ Books was founded in 2013. The founders, Tiago Casanova and Pedro Guimarães, are themselves photographers and have used their expertise and passion to create a publishing house that is dedicated to showcasing the best of contemporary photography.

In addition to publishing books, we also organize exhibitions and other events related to photography. The publishing house has gained a reputation for producing visually stunning books that are carefully designed and produced to the highest standards.

We're much more than just a book publisher. Inside its premises, XYZ Books hosts five interdisciplinary and nonprofit projects, including a bookshop with a focus on photography, a publishing house, and a printing lab. The publishing house participates actively in international photobook fairs, photography festivals, and organizes workshops, exhibitions, and presentations.

One of the unique offerings of XYZ Books is its residencies entirely dedicated to photobook making. We believe photobooks are an important part of shaping the culture of photography, and we are committed to contributing to this cultural phenomenon by providing a collaborative and open space for artists and photographers to showcase their work.

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