Dust to Dust (2012)

Dust to Dust (2012)

A new laser engraved edition was released in September 2012 at The London Art Book Fair at Whitechapel Gallery, London – extending the fruitful collaboration with artist Tom Sowden which began with my residency at UWE in 2010.

Entitled 'Dust to Dust' the piece continues my combination of photographic imagery and laser-engraving facilitated by Sowden – as first seen in 'Day Return' (2010).

After the abstraction of the earlier piece, however, this new work draws from a long-term archive of photography created amongst the curious, shadowed pathways and tombs of Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington, North London.

Dust to Dust – a few pages from the back (2012)

Traditional crafts of stone carving and masonry meet the futuristic possibilities of computer-programmed laser technology to memorable effect in this intriguing piece. The book looks both to the past and the future.

The meter long concertina book comes in a hand-made grey board box numbered and signed. Inside the lid it carries additional text information on the circumstances and provenance of the piece.

Double-side laser engraved onto 280gsm Somerset Velvet Antique paper by Tom Sowden, UWE Bristol.

Size: 18 x 100 cm

Edition of 10 – in a signed & numbered box.

Half of the edition boxed up in handmade boxes.

In the public collection of the Tate Collection, Manchester Metropolitan University Library All Saints, UCA Epsom Library, CFPR Collection at the University of West England, University of Southampton Libraries Winchester School of Art and Leeds College of Art Library, UK.

Selected for the Fifth International Artists' Book Exhibition 2013 (May 18th - October 2013) at Szent István Király Múzeum (King St. Stephen Museum), Székesfehérvár, Hungary where it has been donated to the permanent collection.

Udkant (2012)

As part of the Doverodde Book Arts Festival IV & Symposium – 2012

british printmaker and poet Nancy Campbell and I collaborated on a small book to promote the danish Festival. The collaboration took place while exhibiting at a danish literature event/festival called 'Ordkraft' (Word power) in the city of Aalborg. Over the course of the three days the event lasted the book took form and each day something new was added. The idea was to introduce the concept of artist's books and show how one can be made. The title Udkant (On the margins) was the set theme of the Doverodde Book Arts Festival and Nancy wrote a short poem related to this, which was then translated into Danish by me as part of the development of the book.

Each copy of the book is handmade and individually typed on my mom's old Adler Special typewriter and has two small pop-ups. The title is printed using a hand carved rubber-stamp based on an enlarged version of the typewritten title.

The edition is open.

Size: 10.5 x 7.3cm

In the public collection of Tate Collection, Manchester Metropolitan University Library All Saints and also held by international private collectors.

More about Doverodde Book Arts Festival: www.doveroddebookarts.blogspot.com

Since 2012 'Udkant' has been on show in 'Typewriter: Print On Demand', an exhibition of typewriters, related works and artists’ books presented by Angie & Simon Butler at Bath School of Art & Design, Bath, UK – February 6-17th 2013.

Mentioned in the article: 'The long s and the small publishers' by Michael Caines at The TLS blog (The Times Literary Supplement) on November 15th, 2014.

In 2015 it was on show in an exhibition of artist's books Nancy Campbell hosted in Iceland called: 'Síður í Siglufjörður'/'Pages in Siglufjörður' – Contemporary artist’s books on the coastal environment at HERHÚSIÐ, Norðurgata 7b, 580 Siglufjörður, Iceland.
It was open on Saturdays: 14, 21 and 28 March, 2015 (11am - 4pm).