Chan's collaborative, unpredictable magazine returns for its latest issue with a playful look into Steidl Founded by Theseus Chan (born 1961) in 2000, Werkmagazine burst forth as a radical vision in the world of publication design. Featuring new drawings and texts by Chan interpreting and recasting the sights and sounds of Steidl Publishers, Manifestembraces spontaneity, imperfection, humor, play and the unpredictable.
Emphasizing spontaneity and subversion, this unique publication redefines offset printing traditions through a vibrant array of colors, making each copy distinct. A collaboration between Theseus Chan, Gerhard Steidl, and Kunsthaus Göttingen, it documents Chan's installation at documenta 15, celebrating printed matter in diverse forms. By embracing intuition and chance, the creators employed unconventional techniques, resulting in a book that embodies "printed anarchy" and challenges established printing norms. Only 650 limited copies are available.
In the spring of 2016 the exhibition “1001 Steidl Books” was held at DECK in Singapore, an independent platform for art and photography. On the occasion of the exhibition artists from across Asia were invited to submit book dummies for the Steidl Book Award Asia. A single award was planned, but from the many books Gerhard Steidl finally chose eight: “The submissions were all so strong, so surprising and varied, that it would have been unfair to just choose one.” Together with the co-founder and director of DECK Gwen Lee, and the creative director of WERK Theseus Chan, the eight photographers came to Steidl in Göttingen in January 2017 to make their books. „Eight Books for Asia“ is a limited-edition set containing all the winning books along with additional printed literature on the project, presented in a screen-printed cardboard box.