Composed of pictures of animals clipped from magazines and newspapers, stamps and photos from advertising pamphlets, Lous Martens’ new photobook is a symbol of family devotion before anything else. “Seventeen…

Composed of pictures of animals clipped from magazines and newspapers, stamps and photos from advertising pamphlets, Lous Martens’ new photobook is a symbol of family devotion before anything else. “Seventeen years ago our grandson Jaap was born. That was the start of an animal book for Jaap. I used more a dummy for the OASE journal of architecture and loosely pasted in pictures of animals that I had clipped from newspapers and magazines about art, literature and science. Plus stamps and photos from advertising brochures. Then Zeno was born and the same thing happened: an animal book for Zeno. Now I was working on two books at once. Then came Anna. Julian. Luca. At this point, there were five books-in-the-making on the table. And none of those five are finished yet. The children, as well as myself, enjoy seeing the small, ever-evolving changes. The additions. These books were never intended for the outside world where I had found all the pictures. Never intended to be published. Now they lie here, grouped into one big book, because others have convinced me it’s what they deserve.”