My biblionautic chums and friends.
Film time!.
A book, hand bound in Studio 5 in 2015. Hung in a Spruce tree in Norway for some 2 and a half years, open to the elements. Honey applied to some of the pages. Nature creating. Please follow the link..........
A book, hand bound in Studio 5 in 2015. Hung in a Spruce tree in Norway
for some 2 and a half years, open to the elements. Honey applied to some
of the pages. Nature creating.
I feel that bookbinding is about control, precision, and deliberation.
It can take many hours to make a book, let alone the content. In most
cultures it is still considered abhorrent to destroy books. In the last
century regimes actively encouraged the destruction of certain books as a
form of control and as part of a systematic and deliberate prelude to
ethnic cleansing. However, some books are not wanted, or are considered
out of date, so what does one do? .... Perhaps a very famous example
would be the Dead Sea Scrolls... Left or abandoned in a cave only to be
found centuries later. Most, if not all, of the materials to make a book
are derived from the natural world. So, what has this to do with
books?.... As a bookbinder/printer and artist I cherish the book. And,
with my book arts hat on, I consider the possibilities of what the book
is and could be. As mentioned, the book is made from materials found in
the in the natural world, so how does burying the book or books form
part of my oeuvre? First I have to say that I only bury books I have
made, therefore it could be said that they are mine to do with as I wish
and as a book artist I want to explore the book in full. In 2009 I was
invited to participate in 'Pestival' a celebration of the Insect. I
collaborated with forensic entomologist Amoret Whitaker, then working in
the Natural History Museum, London. Instead of making books to be
cherished, I produced a series of books to be returned to nature
(buried) and to be eaten by insects! This was an exercise in the
interaction of the natural world (insects and larvae) and the book. The
control I had in the making of the books was given over to the non
control of nature. After being buried and eaten the books were isolated
and treated to ensure that the books were/are stable, then going on to
be exhibited. I have continued the exercise with books being buried in
different parts of the world, exploring different soils and climates.
The amount of time in the ground or exposed to the elements can vary.
The outcomes are unpredictable, however, my collaboration with nature
can result in creating, for me at least, the beautiful and intriguing. I
consider myself to be a very deliberate artist/maker and embracing the
loss of control continues to be a cathartic and inspiring experience.
Indeed one of my books was buried in New Zealand, surviving two earth
quakes, only to be dug up with a garden fork! The Buried Book series is
ongoing with examples being in public and private collections and
libraries. One buried book forming part of an installation piece Through
the Looking Glass now in the collection of the National Art Library at
the Victoria and Albert Museum. In short the Buried Book series is an
exploration, collaboration and realisation of one aspect of book art
that I embrace along with my more formal work, design binding,
restoration etc.
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