PULSE — Ata Kam, 2014, signed and numbered (3/4)

PULSE is a rare, handmade artist’s photobook by Ata Kam, produced in Ankara in 2014 in an edition of only four copies. Bound with exposed thread and wrapped in a xerox aesthetic, the book presents a dark, bodily, and fragmentary visual language. Its scratched, collaged cover — a close-up of arachnid forms and human limbs — sets the tone for an unsettling, sensuous interior.

Printed in rich black-and-white with grain and texture pushed to their limits, the images inside oscillate between the erotic, the grotesque, and the ritualistic. The sequencing is raw and rhythmic, pulling the viewer through surfaces of skin, shadow, and street. This is photographic publishing as low-fi incantation — closer to zine culture or underground poetry than traditional photobook craft. Signed “loves Cambodia 2014,” this copy reflects Kam’s global drift and personal obsessions. A fierce, rare object from the post-internet, post-nation fringe.

Technical Sheet
Title: PULSE
Artist / Author: Ata Kam
Date: 2014
Edition: Signed and numbered, No. 3 of 4 copies
Technique / Printing Method: Xerox / handmade artist book
Medium / Materials: Softcover, thread binding
Dimensions (cm): Approx. 21 × 28
Publisher / Editor: Self-published (ata-kam.com)
Place: Ankara
Condition: Very good