Ursula by Hannah Whitaker
Hannah Whitaker’s photobook imagines the embodiment of personified technology, addressing how these figures are gendered, subservient, and sexualized. Immersed in techno-futuristic design tropes, Whitaker’s playful, maximalist and estranging photographs are encased in a metallic silver background that nods to the product design of digital servant hardware.
Whitaker’s images are accompanied by texts by David Levine and Dawn Chan, which evoke scanned pages and the utilitarian design of user manuals.
The flexible hardcover case is wrapped in a custom dyed faux leather cloth, creating a synthetic skin for Whitaker’s publication. Science fiction-inspired lettering brings a cinematic quality to the back cover, while a barcode wrapping its spine supports the notion of this imagined protagonist and her namesake book as consumable products.
Ursula was edited by Nicholas Muellner and Catherine Taylor and published by Image Text Ithaca Press.
