The Hero Mother How to build a house

Featuring Peter Puklus Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski

Website Instagram

The Hero Mother — How to build a house is Peter Puklus’ fifth book, released in October 2021 co-published by Witty Books and Images Vevey. The book raises questions about the constructs of roles in the modern family, the expectations of society as opposed to personal layers of relation towards one's place in the nuclear family.

Through the representation of objects such as bricks, pipes, and a hammer — the same elements that allow building a house — Peter deconstructs the concept of responsibilities in a household only to create it from scratch. Hand drawings, among which are Anger, Depression, How to make love, and The origin 1-2, invite the viewer to get acquainted with the narrative through the artist’s experience.

This is our second interview with Peter Puklus, a multidisciplinary artist currently located in Budapest, Hungary. We focus on The Hero Mother raising the curtain to behind the scenes of working on the publication and the years it took to develop the print edition. Peter speaks about the stages of the project, starting from the ​​Grand Prix received at Images Vevey leading to a premiere of the project a year later to finally deciding to work on a book. We discuss the dynamics of working with the designer, Paolo Berra, and the co-publishers building the story. “The most challenging aspects of working on the images were to find the right balance between reality and stage, private and public, fact and fiction,” Peter shares.

Represented by Glassyard Gallery & Robert Morat Purchase your copy of The Hero Mother — how to build a house here Book co-published by Witty Books (Italy) and Images Vevey (Switzerland) Designed by Paolo Berra Printed by Grafiche Veneziane

Printrun 1000 copies

120 Pages 16x23 cm Hard cover

‘The Hero Mother also went through several stages from planning images as small drawings in my notebook to ambitious and unrealistic ideas, while always keeping in mind that the final goal is something that contains not only photography but objects, drawings and somehow a mixed part of them should be included in the book.’

Before shifting its form to a book, The Hero Mother — How to build a house was a project that was awarded Grand Prix by the Images Vevey and also premiered during Images Vevey Biennial 2018. Tell about the different stages that the project went through? How did it shape it to become the book that it is today?

Almost like any other projects in my case, The Hero Mother also went through several stages from planning images as small drawings in my notebook to ambitious and unrealistic ideas, while always keeping in mind that the final goal is something that contains not only photography but objects, drawings and somehow a mixed part of them should be included in the book. I took the first photographs dedicated to the project in 2016 in New York, where I went for a residency with the family. These are the first half-dozen of images with which I started to promote the idea and included them in my portfolio to Grand Prix Images. It convinced the jury in early 2017, and I had more than a year to finish my project to be premiered in September 2018 at Images in Vevey, Switzerland.

During the preparation, I focused more on the creation of new photographs, objects, drawings, installations and on the clarification of the message. I consider the premiere a big success. I really like the way how all the details came together: finding the empty apartment at the railway station, dividing the project into chapters, and matching them with different rooms, so not only the images but their placement and installation were also important to see the whole story. 

In 2018, Glassyard, the gallery representing me, presented itself with a solo booth dedicated to The Hero Mother at the Artissima Art Fair in Turin, Italy. Designer Paolo Berra saw the show and connected me with Tommaso Parrillo from Witty Books. Finally, they co-published the book with Images Vevey, the original producer of the project. However, the project was still unfinished at the moment of these premieres. I was working on the series for three more years and I included the intermediate results in my future exhibitions and other presentations. The focus and main message were constantly shifting and since the collection of photographs, objects, and drawings were growing, I was able to explain them in a more and more detailed way. This means I was able to dedicate several exhibitions to discuss sub-chapters or to develop less-developed parts.

Looking back at the collaboration with Witty Books and Images Vevey and your work with the designer, Paolo Berra, how do you think their approach to work on the book allowed you to view it or interpret its content from a slightly different angle? 

Stefano Stoll, the director, and Raphaël Biollay, curator of Images Vevey, were always closest to the project and provided a very safe working environment filled with trust, faith, and commitment. Honestly, the financial part was the smallest but still a very important part of their all-inclusive support. I think it is a very professional level of collaboration when the producer is able to give time and space to the author and push only at the right moment. Their positivity passed through to the three-sided partnership, and we all had the same goal — which is not always evident. Together with Tommaso Parrillo from Witty Books, the communication was seamless, and the agreement was fast even though we couldn't meet in person due to the pandemic. They held me when I needed it: sometimes my private life was upside down, sometimes the amount of work was overwhelming, and sometimes my own message with the book was fading away.

‘Honestly, the financial part was the smallest but still a very important part of their all-inclusive support. I think it is a very professional level of collaboration when the producer is able to give time and space to the author and push only at the right moment.’

The actual process started with 2-3 Skype conversations for 1-2 hours each time, where I explained the project, its background, and all or most of the stories about it. Then I shared many materials: photos, drawings, documentation about three-dimensional objects, installations and exhibition views, texts and interviews, and photos of books which I like — altogether a couple of thousand files. Designer, Paolo Berra, sensitively captured that information and filtered it into the design and sequencing. For me, this was the first and very important time when I stepped back a little from the operative part, and the team was free to use or not to use my guidance without receiving and following any direction from my part. I think my relative distance and the filter applied by the designer and the co-publishers resulted in a book that is still very personal but also digestible. Thank you all!

‘The most challenging aspects of working on the images were to find the right balance between reality and stage, private and public, fact and fiction – and to experience both sides at the same time while crossing many borders.’

Topics introduced in the book consist of: depression, anger, transition, construction, and deconstruction, along with reference to the Origin Of The World painting. There is tension between a guide with what is supposed to hold instructions on how to build a house and the actual struggle with trial and error presented in the book. What were the most challenging aspects of working on the images considering the fluidity of personal moments and artistic representation or modification of such?

The most challenging aspects of working on the images were to find the right balance between reality and stage, private and public, fact and fiction – and to experience both sides at the same time while crossing many borders. Am I allowed / the right person to talk about this? Is my story interesting? What am I actually saying? Isn't the message wrong or un-developed? So many questions no one can answer. There were many and many trials and errors during the actual making of the photographs, drawings, and every other element. Finally, I think when I decided to create even the most extreme ideas then they found their right place (in or out) during the final phase.

‘The birth of the book is somehow similar to the birth of a child. Even if it's not the first time, it is still a miracle with some unexpected, accidental details which are genial as they are.’

Let's briefly discuss your trip to Venice to finalize the book. What was it like to work on this process and see it gradually coming to life?

The birth of the book is somehow similar to the birth of a child. Even if it's not the first time, it is still a miracle with some unexpected, accidental details which are genial as they are. Since this is my fifth book printed on offset and the second one printed at Grafiche Veneziane, I felt a little at home already, and I knew what to expect and how to make the most out of the process. This is teamwork where the compromises from both sides can result in something magical.