Books have given me a kind of freedom… John Blakemore
An artist’s book has unique qualities. It has sequence and flow; it naturally combines word and image; and it has sculptural qualities. Charles Hobson
Book objects have become an increasingly important element of my practice. I have been making them for several years now and I enjoy the way the form and the content interact and inform each other. During Covid-19 lock down they became a source of quiet contemplation, as well as being practical to achieve! I am particularly interested in this form because it is a good way of exploring our physical/digital entanglements, each form informs the other. They also allow me to explore and play with different themes and concepts on a small and manageable scale.
Into the Woods
About
Although Into the Woods was created as generative art it began as a result of my physical experience of walking regularly in our local woods at a time when the world felt like it had been turned upside down. The images are one of the computer generated woods and as such they are illusory, created through training an algorithm on over 1,000 images of woods and forests. It seemed like a good metaphor for a bewildering world that feels like I have fallen down the rabbit hole. When closed Into the Woods is 14cm x 14cm x 4.5cm. Fully extended the tunnel stretches to 27cm.
Materials
Into the Woods It is constructed from Hahnemule Photo Rag (ten tunnel images), Hahnemule Rice paper (end papers) and Awagami Inbe Thin white (concertina). The tunnel inkjet prints have been protected with PermaSeal UV protective coat to maintain their lightfastness. It is an edition of five.
Under Cover
About
As part of my experience of being in lockdown I became even more aware of my dependence on my digital infrastructure. A book object that explores the notion of digital being undercover seemed like a perfect form for this work. I been doing research into the history of the internet and came across the Intergalactic Network, led by Joseph Licklider and credited with some of the early thinking about the world wide web in the sixties. I had also come across Kleinrock and bought a copy of his book ‘Communication Nets’ (Kleinrock, 2007). I came across various diagrams that outlined the nature of networks and the most effective way to transfer packets of communication across those networks. Coincidentally Kleinrock published his original thesis on which the book is based in 1962, the year I was born.
Using three of the Kleinrock diagrams I decided to leave the first circle empty to signify the notion of isolation. The following three circles then get more complex as my connections have built over the week. It is hard to imagine how social distancing would have worked before we had the technology; we now have to keep us connected – physically distanced but socially connected.
Materials
The cover of Under Cover is made from Copper Lokta Paper, the concertina is grey Ingres paper, with copper thread across the cut outs. The end papers are cartridge paper, inkjet printed. The book closure is made from brown Cat5 cable, which is a twisted pair cable used for computer networks. It is a one off book
Re-presenting the family album
This project was inspired by my explorations of the changing role of the family album brought about as a result of our increasingly entangled lives, lived between physicality and digitality.
Flows: Is a one off flutter book that combines family album images with appropriated and found images. In the digital environment they exist together in a newly formed but fragile context. Constructed of handmade, natural Lokta paper the book measures 13cm x 3cm x 1cm. The flutter pages extend out to 102cm.
Entanglements: A maze book that has very sculptural qualities. This book combines aspects of my research into the shifting practice of family photograph albums. Inkjet prints on transparency film; each element is wrapped in Lokta paper. The book has to be refolded in a particular order but it is not immediately evident and can create a physical as well as a visual entanglement. Entanglements measures 10cm x 10cm x 3cm when folded. It unfolds to 32cm x 42xm when laid out flat.
My family album: Our family albums: This Dos a Dos format book was a great way to contrast my own family album with appropriated images from the internet relating to family albums in general. Research text gives context to our changing practices. Inkjet printed on photo rag and Lokta paper. Signatures are stitched into cartridge paper.
Essence of Landscape
About
A small book that captures images from my local lake. Originally the land on which it sits was a huge plant nursery where my Mum used to work. It was well known for its Rhododendrons. Eventually the land was sold for housing and a lake was built to accommodate the runoff from the estate. The photographs were created using double exposures and intentional camera movement. Rather than reproducing the landscape I wanted to capture its essence, the feeling, the energy of the place, as well as all not being quite what it seems. Each image follows a word that relates to the notion of essence.
Materials
Letterpress and inkjet printed on Epson Velvet Fine Art 260gsm. Japanese stab binding encasing a stick from the lake where the photos were taken. This is an edition of ten.