Welcome to The Photo Vault.
Our host, Lukas Birk, takes you on a voyage filled with exclusive on sight interviews featuring renowned artists who draw inspiration from vernacular photography, collectors who have dedicated their lives to amassing incredible troves of images, and curators who curate exhibitions that bridge the gap between past and present.
The Photo Vault steps into a hidden world filled with forgotten snapshots, dusty family albums, and gems of visual history to be uncovered. Join us as we embark on an exhilarating tour into the heart of collecting, curating and creating artworks and photobooks with archival materials around the globe.
The Photo Vault is part of the Vernacular Social Club, a platform that brings together people who share a common interest in the Vernacular world www.vernacularsocialclub.com
The host:
Lukas Birk, is an Austrian researcher, artist, and publisher who primarily focuses on archival narratives and edits stories from South and Southeast Asia. He founded the Myanmar Photo Archive, the Afghan Box Camera Project, SewonArtSpace in Yogyakarta, and the Austro Sino Arts Program in Beijing. As well as a boutique camera Manufacture producing the Instant Box Camera and an independent photobook publishing project called Fraglich Publishing.
In this episode, we hear from an artist who, according to reliable sources, is BIG IN JAPAN—Dutch artist Chantal Rens. Her lifelong obsession with collecting has shaped her into a collage artist crea…
Welcome to the Photo Vault, featuring books that inspire you! Today, we’re exploring the work of one of my favorite storytellers in the form of a photo book that uses a lot of vernacular photography—…
In this episode, I take you to Singapore, where I attended the Singapore International Photo Festival with the Myanmar Photo Archive. During my time there, I met Roy Ng, a curator at the National Gal…
In this episode of The Photo Vault, we speak with the wonderfully insightful Chiara Capodici about her experience in the photobook world. From the "mythical times" in Europe 20 years ago to today's b…
We all need inspiration, and books can certainly provide it. Today, we explore some wonderfully unusual inspirations from Dutch collage artist Chantal Rens. Her book selections stem from her deep lov…
Meet Kurt Tong, an award-winning photographer and storyteller who has crafted some of the finest narratives in recent years, blending archival and vernacular photographs with personal storytelling. I…
3 Books That Inspire You Today with Chiara Capodici, who runs Leporello Books in Rome. Chiara brings a deeply philosophical approach to photobooks and bookmaking. Tune in to hear about her two curren…
This episode of The Photo Vault accompanies the latest edition of REVU magazine, titled War & Peace. REVU is the Vernacular Social Club’s print outlet, covering a variety of subjects. Although there …
In this episode, you will follow Lukas as he explores the photobook world at Les Rencontres de la Photographie d'Arles, a fantastic photo festival in the south of France that has been running since 1…
In this episode of The Photo Vault, we receive book recommendations from the Istanbul-based artist Cemre Yeşil Gönenli. Her book choices are varied and full of emotional connections to her own journe…
In this Episode of The Photo Vault we are going to explore a very peculiar Vernacular Photo Festival in Italy.
Gu.Pho. Our host Lukas went South to work on an exhibition of the Vernacular Social Club…
In this episode of The Photo Vault, we discuss with Dutch artist and editor Erik Kessels why it is important to have an opinion and dislike things, as well as why it is most important that young arti…
Follow French editor and artist Thomas Sauvin on his journey from a Chinese language student to the collector and editor of an enormous archive that he continually augments from a dumpsite in Beijing…
In this episode, we delve into a talk event on Vernacular Photography that took place in November 2023. Our host, Lukas, was one of the speakers and has encapsulated a myriad of ideas, thoughts, and …
In this episode, we meet Thweep Rittinaphakorn, also known as Ake, in Bangkok, and explore his collection of photographs from Myanmar during the colonial era. Ake is an expert in Myanmar textiles who…
This episode of The Photo Vault prompts us to question the world around us by examining product packaging, which often reinforces and perpetuates stereotypical norms in various aspects of our lives.
O…
In this episode, we hear thoughts, ideas, and stories from writer, critic, educator, and artist Lucy Sante. She has a fascinating history and engagement with photography, writing on photography, and …
In this episode of The Photo Vault, we discuss with artist, photographer, and book publisher Joachim Schmid why he is not a collector but a gatherer. We also delve deep into computer history and Joac…
In this episode, we are meeting with Cemre Yeşil Gönenli, an Istanbul-born and -based artist, photographer, and educator. She gives us insight into her quest for finding the invisible through photogr…