Turn Down Center Line

Turn Down Center Line is based on artist Pernilla Zetterman’s equine works, spanning fifteen years. The book, with a foreword by Adjunct Professor in Photography Timothy Persons, is divided into two parts—Words and Language. The words—an A–Z distilled from the world of horses, in which Zetterman grew up—form the basis for her artistic language. It is through this language she seeks to understand notions such as discipline, control, closeness, communication, and devotion. The works are arranged to create a narrative rather than a timeline or a catalogue with technical information.

The title of the book is replaced by its schematics (a specific riding pattern exercise) on the front of the cover. The silver embossing on black leather picks up on the sharpness of disciplinary aesthetics; as a soft contrast, the two extra-long bookmarks refer to horse trophy ribbons—both like artifacts from Zetterman’s childhood collection of memorabilia.

The book is deliberately small in format to avoid the too evident association “big animal = big book” and instead make it intimate, which is more congenial to the book’s true subject matter. Also, a smaller book reflects the act of reading instead of looking.