Monday 6 August 2012

New Book - READ underway

I'm working on a new artist's book. Working title is, READ (pronounced "Red", as in the past tense of read) It's an artist's book after Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. I'm making it specifically for the exhibition, Beyond Dickens in Portsmouth (Dickens's birthplace) in Southsea Library Oct 2012.

"In celebration of the bicentenary of Charles Dickens’ birth and as part of Portsmouth’s Cultural Olympiad celebrations we are organizing an exhibition of Artists’ Books inspired by Dickens. Throughout the year there have been a number of international and national events to mark this occasion, and this exhibition highlights the impact of Dickens as an inspiration for new creative works by contemporary artists. We are inviting artists to design and make books inspired by either a text from Charles Dickens or one of his contemporaries."
Ros Simms (Exhibition curator)

I am playing with the idea of hidden words that can be reveled when you know the secret, to mirror the act of reading, which I have always felt is like a code - you learn the technique, then all books become potential worlds full of fascination.

I've had a batch of red acrylic magnifying glasses laser cut which the reader will need to use to seek out the hidden message.