Natascha Libbert’s *I Went Looking for a Ship* follows the major renovation of the sea lock at IJmuiden, the most important access to the port of Amsterdam. Libbert photographs the life inside the technical zone on and around the locks, the port of Amsterdam, and the ships. Her themes include destruction and construction, the increasing public invisibility of maritime transport, and how the landscape constantly changes as a result of shipping. She decided to look for a ship in order to observe everything from another perspective and to get a grip on this transforming landscape; eventually she took passage on a ship that picks up quarried stone from a mountain in Norway.

In the book, Libbert’s research and logs are the common thread, with images that are sometimes technical and sometimes abstract and poetic. Using archival footage, reference images, and research, she highlights the history of the locks and discusses specific characteristics of the maritime space and the similarities between divers and astronauts. She kept a logbook, wrote a glossary, and compiled archival and reference material, all documenting her time at the locks, on the seas, and in the port. The publisher describes the book as a personal quest into the maritime space and the invisibility of its landscape, in which the ships never stop sailing.

The Eriskay Connection published this first edition in 2018: 160 pages, English, Otastar softcover, 205 × 300 mm. Concept and photography are by Natascha Libbert, with text by Libbert; editing by Michaël Snitker and Natascha Libbert; text editing and translations (logbook) by Emily Williams and Natascha Libbert; translation and proofreading by Billy Nolan and Vic Joseph. Design is by Michaël Snitker, lithography by Marc Gijzen, and production by Jos Morree (Fine Books). Print is by GrafiPlaza and Lenoirschuring, binding by Hexspoor. The project was supported by the Amsterdams Fund for the Arts, ING Collection, and Mondriaan Fund.