I remember the first time I held an art book in my hands—a small, handmade zine made by a friend. As I flipped through its pages, slightly uneven and covered in smudged ink, it felt like an invitation to step into the artist’s world: filled with sketches of their everyday life, woven with their musings on the unnoticed beauty of the ordinary. Unlike anything I’d ever bought in a bookstore, this was a piece of someone’s creative process, a work of art that I could touch, revisit, and carry with me. 

As I studied the arts, and then started working in the industry as a visual art curator and producer, I encountered a range of printed materials that defied conventional book formats: some meticulously-bound with intricately-stitched spines; others quickly photocopied and loosely stapled. Some brimmed with images, photographs, and drawings; others pieced together fragmented texts and poetic writing. I never really questioned whether they counted as “books” in the traditional sense; to me, they were creative expressions sitting comfortably alongside the artworks and exhibitions I was already familiar with.

It wasn’t until I attended the Singapore Art Book Fair (SGABF) that I began to reflect on what an art book truly was. This annual multi-day event, part celebration and part marketplace, gathers artists, designers, and publishers across South-east Asia and beyond to showcase and sell their creations. Through the diversity of works on display at SGABF, I came to appreciate how art books push the boundaries of conventional formats, blending visual art, design, and concept in new and unexpected ways. (Jom commissioned this essay as part of its partnership with SGABF2024, and maintained full editorial control.)

Over the past decade, their growing popularity, fuelled by an increasing number of regional art book fairs, reflects a shift towards independent publishing and the exploration of varied visual cultures. The art book has emerged as an unexpected but powerful vessel for expanding access to creative practices, catalysing a budding ecosystem of ground up and independent initiatives around its production and distribution. More than just objects, art books act as meeting points, forging connections between artists and audiences. They play a pivotal role in making creative practices visible, while also fostering new communities and engaged publics.

What exactly is an art book? The medium’s heterogeneity and loose boundaries make it challenging to define. There’s a general consensus among this year’s SGABF exhibitors though: an art book is one where how it is made and what it is about are of equal importance. Michelle Santiago Cortes, writer and culture critic, offers this definition: “Object and content are equally prominent, if not totally indistinguishable.” Art books are often works of art in themselves, offering artists unique ways to translate ideas while maintaining control over both visual and conceptual elements. The interplay between text, image, and form is central to their impact. 

For Singapore-based Temporary Press, collaborating with artists on art books is a natural extension of their design work. The two-person studio, comprising designers Gideon Kong and Jamie Yeo, notes that “the design will significantly affect the way that content is being experienced in a book form…and the understanding of the content or research.” Decisions on design elements—such as typography, layout, paper type or ink—are intrinsically tied to the book’s content. The control and autonomy afforded by its role as an independent small-scale publisher enables Temporary Press to explore alternative approaches to the art book outside of commercial pressures.

Such experimentation can also challenge traditional narrative structures and invite non-linear ways of reading. For reading an art book is not just an intellectual exercise, but an intimate, sensory journey. An art book is a physical object meant to be held and experienced; the page becomes an interactive site where the reader actively participates in bringing the book to life through their touch and attention. Creators often experiment with the pace and rhythm of the reader’s engagement through materiality—from the weight and texture of the paper, to the layers of ink applied through analogue print methods like silkscreen or risograph. Readers, in turn, are free—and often encouraged—to engage with the art book on their own terms, making the experience a personal one. 

Originally a children’s book publisher in the 1990s, the Chennai-based independent publisher Tara Books brings its highly visual, tactile, and interactive approach to its art books today. Its handcrafted works are produced in its in-house artisan workshop in collaboration with Indian indigenous artists. SEED, for instance, is a beautifully illustrated book that explores humanity’s relationship with seeds, incorporating four distinct book forms—a pop-up, a fold-out, a booklet, and a scroll—to embody each narrative section. Readers are invited to unfold a long accordion scroll that illustrates the journeys of seeds across different landscapes, while a folded pop-up blooms like a seed bursting into life, transforming into a seed-gathering basket similar to those used by the Warli people, an indigenous tribe of western India.

For some, the art book format is particularly suited to archival or historical narratives; its visuality enables the communication of complex stories and dense research in accessible and engaging ways. The Jakarta-based independent publisher Binatang Press, for instance, collaborated with Indonesian music archive Irama Nusantara on the risograph-printed book Dari Ngak Ngik Ngok ke Dheg Dheg Plas. The history of Indonesian pop music is chronically under-documented, and the book is crucial in its foregrounding of the political tumult that rocked the country in the 1960s—viewed through the lens of popular music. “That’s where the visual comes into play—we find parts in the book where we can turn facts into something more lively, like illustrations or infographics,” explains Wanda Kamarga, owner-operator of Binatang Press. The book also includes QR codes so readers can listen to the music discussed, adding an aural dimension to a visual medium.