By Molly Simpson

Disclaimer: Winner Jerry Zhang previously worked for The Eyeopener but was not interviewed for this story.

Over 30 third-year photography media arts students showcased photobooks in the 2026 First Edition Book Show hosted with Artspace TMU on Feb. 5, 2026.

Students had the freedom to experiment within two overarching themes while creating the books, said Eliot Wright, the contract lecturer for MPS 507: The Photographic Book. The theme ‘new meaning’ saw students contrast old and new creations to provide a novel meaning, while ‘mapping’ invited students to capture images happening in a specific time and place to create a narrative.

Some projects weren’t books at all. One work was laid on a kitchen table display as a deck of cards for the audience to flip thorough. Another photobook consisted of record covers in a milk crate set up beside an armchair. The more traditional photobooks were displayed on a thin shelf lining the room.

Third-year photography media arts student Rowena Gao’s photobook relied heavily on her love of colour. The black-bound book hid its bright colours beneath temperature sensitive paint; when held, the paint became transparent and revealed the photo beneath.

“It’s just really amazing to have this piece of their history here with us”

Though the room was too hot to fully show the effect, Gao says she was proud of her innovative idea. Visiting the archives with gloves inspired her toward the colour-changing concept: “I really want people to touch the papers and kind of feel it.”

Third-year photography media arts student Gordon Nyenhuis’ work was used as the event poster, displaying a composite of black and white images of a man’s head in motion. Nyenhuis said he wanted to depict headaches as a “state of being.”

He was drawn toward this theme after jaw surgery left him with frequent headaches and migraines. “When you have a headache it just kind of takes over everything…it’s such a small banal thing but it just feels very all-encompassing,” he said.

Wright said the class encourages students to consider more than individual photos, instead placing their work into “sequence and narrative.”

“Some books…might be like a Chopin piece that’s very calm and occasionally has this little frill but overall it’s very delicate. Some books are like heavy metal, they’re just like an onslaught of full volume, very loud photographs with very little relief. And others weave back and forth between…melody and the cacophony at different points, and that just really depends on the subject and how they want to communicate their ideas,” he said.

“…operating in the art world doesn’t have to be scary”

The winning works will be housed in the TMU Library Archives & Special Collections. Since the first award in 2015, the collection is now 81 pieces strong.
Winners included Nyenhuis, Ethan Barruch, Carter Henry, Evva Sofia Pereira and Jerry Zhang.

Alison Skyrme, the TMU special collections librarian, convened the judging panel tasked with selecting the winners. Image arts assistant professor Michèle Pearson Clarke, previous year winner Aidan Clark and Lee Chapman, multimedia and graphic designer for the TMU Library, made up the panel.

Panelist criteria looked at the “cohesiveness of the design, the images and the text,” said Skyrme.

Skyrme discussed the legacies winners leave behind. Many have showcased successful exhibitions or become professors of photography. “It’s just really amazing to have this piece of their history here with us,” she said.

This year the award was funded by the Photographic Historical Society of Canada.

Syd Deneau, the Artspace TMU installation coordinator, wants students to remember the event is a celebration even if their works didn’t win.

“I hope they know that operating in the art world doesn’t have to be scary. It’s kind of just a room of your friends, and peers and mentors coming together not to critique, but to talk about your work,” they said.