on a roll...

I'm currently working on a second small book edition for BAO

things are going surprisingly quite well....

this is a little something I'm currently fiddling with 

in response to the title 'knowledge' 

I've got a few images and the book form kinda sorted already

stay tuned for more developments....

....

books...

I've been making books for BookArtObject edition 4

 

I've stupidly put my hand up to complete 3 small editions 

as part of the latest BAO major project

so I thought I really SHOULD 'seize the day'
and get started with my edition 'carpe diem' ....

'carpe diem' is an edition of 12
with 2APs (which are slightly larger and slightly different)  

 the artist proofs have been completed 

 and tomorrow I'm hoping to case-in the 12 little books in the edition 

that will be posted out to BAO group 11 peeps

and after they have all been received I'll do the big reveal

oooo I hope everyone enjoys the small book
(its had a loooooong gestation period)

.....

art and lies (lies and misdemeanours)...

Well folks it's past time for me to show you all
what I created for my second BAO project

based on an excerpt from Jeanette Winterson's 'Art and Lies' 

I made a small edition (just 12) of vertical hanging concertina booklets

 Rhonda Ayliffe

'Lies and Misdemeanours'

2011

archival inkjet print on TH Saunders

handcrafted distress dyed book cloth by the artist

satin ribbon 

The piece features a print from my ongoing 'codex incendium' series of ephemeral book/fire installations and an excerpt from 'The Enemies of Books' by William Blades 

Each 'Lies and Misdemeanours' booklet also contains a folded printed excerpt from my draft exegesis chapter (on biblioclasm). I thought this excerpt was especially pertinent to the Art and Lies project, as it contains my research and writing about the loss of the great library of Alexandria

There's also a small folded card-as-colophon (featuring a tiny print of an ephemeral work completed at the Cape Byron lighthouse in August this year...)

 (here's a few of the finished books... all folded up) 

I've blogged a couple of times about how this piece gave me quite a bit of grief, as I struggled with just the right approach to the Winterson text... In the end I decided to create a piece that was my response to the text (indeed there's no sign of the jumping off text in the final piece).  I chose a very simple structure as the text was incredibly dense... Misgivings and highly self-critical debate aside - I'm content with the final piece...

I'm especially thrilled with how the entire BAO 'Art and Lies' edition pulls together as a collection of books. When these books were exhibited together at Impact 7 recently, it was amazing to discover the unity of the collection. Despite that all the pieces were worked on separately and simultaneously on three different continents, by wildly different artists (all without any 'checking in' with each other about just how we were approaching the work) - strangely (fortunately) the work has a complementary aesthetic - and the edition looked fabulous sitting together. From a dispassioned, curatorial viewpoint, it was a nice moment!


...

paper wrestling, wrestling paper ...

 I think everyone (except perhaps guylaine in quebec and the author)
has received my 'paper wrestling' contribution for BAO project two

are you ready for the big reveal?

(drum roll please)

 

'Wrestling Paper' was short-listed for the EGAG National Book Arts Award 'Books Beyond Words... evolution' and a detail piccie was uploaded to their website - all this happened before I could get a copy of the book to all the BAO peeps.... sorry about this but I DO have an excuse (not a terribly good one, but it's an excuse.... which I'll share when I blog about the making of this piece)

I didn't send anything other than the book and the separate colophon when I posted this out to all the BAO peeps.... so I'll share with you all the the statement I submitted with the work for inclusion in EGAG book arts award...

'Wrestling Paper'

coptic-bound circular (or 'flower') booklet – edition of 25

2011

Featuring handmade paper, hand-marbled paper, photography, archival inkjet print, calligraphy, letterpress printing and coptic binding - all by the artist, 'Paper Wrestling' provides a snapshot of the evolution of bookcrafts – from traditional to contemporary processes – in a unique bookform. This piece was created as part of BookArtObject (http://bookartobject.blogspot.com) – which is a blog gathering point, mode of communication and book art exchange between distanced book artists. All the book works created as part of the ongoing BAO project lead a double life – physical and digital. This duality is indicative of the current evolution of the book.

With my small book form I'm keen to hint that in life everything turns full circle...

'Paper Wrestling' poem by Claire Beynon (used with permission).

I'll share more about my work process in the evolution of this small 'book' in another post - and I WILL (eventually) be offering some of the edition for sale (approx 12 books) but I'll tell you about that soon.... right now I think it's important for me to remember to......

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