Al-Mutanabbi Street – a vicious circle

Al-Mutanabbi Street – a vicious circle (2013)

In September 2010 I accepted the call to the project: 'An Inventory of Al-Mutanabbi Street' initiated by Beau Beausoleil (USA) in July 2010 and co-curated by Sarah Bodman (UK).

The purpose of the project is to “reassemble” some of the “inventory” of the reading material that was lost in the 5th of March 2007 car bombing of Al-Mutanabbi Street, Baghdad, Iraq – a street known for its booksellers – the literary and intellectual heart and soul for the community of Baghdad. On this day 30 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.

The international project will be raising funds for Médecins Sans Frontières while also honouring Al-Mutanabbi Street by creating work that holds both "memory and future" of what was lost that day.

Each artist has had a year to complete the work and has donated 3 copies to the project. One will be donated to the Iraq National Library in Baghdad. The other two copies are touring for the next few years in conjunction with shows of the Al-Mutanabbi Street Broadside Project as well as in shows of their own.

See a list of artists and exhibitions and further details of the project:

http://www.al-mutanabbistreetstartshere-boston.com/about.html

http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/mutanmain12.htm
Article Egypt Independent by M.Lynx Qualey, March 2013 www.egyptindependent.com/news/artists-and-writers-search-common-street-iraq

Al-Mutanabbi Street – a vicious circle (2013)

Al-Mutanabbi Street – a vicious circle

Baghdad was once founded and built in a circular way and its name at the time was: Madinat al-Salaam or ‘City of Peace’. This has a sad irony now - and, being a child of the early 1970’s, I only associated Baghdad with death and war - rather than peace - from watching so many television news reports.

From the outside the conflict feels never-ending – with no resolution in sight – a tragic vicious circle. This book represents that but is also a tribute to Al Mutanabbi Street – a street where thoughts and ideas were – and are – exchanged in book form.

Al-Mutanabbi Street – a vicious circle (2013)

Laser engraved covers onto grey boards (by Tom Sowden, UWE Bristol), inkjet printed text and hand-cut and burnt illustrations. Papers: Fabriano Accademia, white 200 gsm & 160 gsm. Binding: pamphlet stitched.

Size: 20 x 20 cm

Edition of 10 – of which 3 copies have been donated to the project.

Completed in February 2013 – 1 year, 5 month and 7 days late!

I will be launching the book at the Bristol Artists Book Event (BABE) at the Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, UK – April 20-21, 2013

The first group show for it to be part of is: 

The John Rylands Library, Manchester, UK – February 6 - July 29, 2013

then:

Center for Book Arts, New York City, in collaboration with Poets House, New York City –  July 10 - September 14, 2013

Al-Mutanabbi Street – a vicious circle (2013)

Dust to Dust

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 and University of Southampton Libraries Winchester School of Art.

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

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

More about the Doverodde Book Arts Festival: www.bookarts-doverodde.dk/

x=

The last book of 2011.

The cover of all three books.

x= is the third and final book in the series of distinctive and unusual robots based on ordinary recognisable objects hand cut into 10 pages.

In this edition 10 seeds from 10 trees common to London (Acer platanoides, Populus nigra, Acacia, Sambucus, Ficus carica, Alnus incase, Aesculus, Platanus × acerifolia, Quercus, Ulmus glabra.) have been transformed into strange new creatures, the first one being a mechanical butterfly which over the turning pages alter into a mad pod-like robotic medieval fortune-teller, who asks the question: What is to be done?

Like the previous two books (10+ & =∞) the inside cover reveals the robots technical specifications.

x= is produced under the theme of the ten anniversary of the bookartbookshop in London, UK which was 'X= or what is to be done?'.
The book was selected as 1 of 20 shortlisted books to go on exhibit at the Red Gallery, Shoreditch in London from February 21-23rd, 2012.
The rest of the year it will tour art libraries and be available at the bookartbookshop.

Front

Back

The book is inkjet printed and hand cut. Edition 10. Size: 21 x 14.8 cm 

Autumn Update 2011

It ended up being a very busy Summer, though sadly not making any of the new work I have planned. 

I was however helping at the 3rd Doverodde Book Arts Festival 2011 in Denmark (June 2-5th), which was a great event, once again bringing together lots of lovely work and great people. 

Along with collating and designing the catalogue I also set up a Flickr account if you want to see pictures of what happened: www.flickr.com/photos/doveroddebookarts/

In August I began my new role as Festival Organiser for the new-look Doverodde Book Arts Festival IV & Symposium – 2012, which I hope will be as successful as the previous ones co-ordinated by my colleague Liz Hempel-Jørgensen. As before it will be at the Limfjordscentret in Doverodde, Hurup, Thy, Denmark. 

You can read more about all that on the social networking site I set up: www.nordicbookarts.ning.com or on www.bookarts-doverodde.dk

And now – after a break in far-off Skagen – October and November will involve new teaching and book fair experiences, meaning almost 4 lovely weeks in London.
Hope to see you at one of these events.
Happy autumn – the leaves have already been blown off the trees here in Denmark.

Up coming events autumn 2011

Book fairs:

The London Art Book Fair – stand no.50

September 23-25th 11am-6pm

Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX, UK

www.thelondonartbookfair.com

Admission FREE

Small Publishers Fair

November 11-12th 11am-7pm

Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL, UK
http://www.rgap.co.uk/spf.php

Admission FREE

Retrospective exhibition

From June 7th-26th, 2011 I'm having a small retrospective exhibition of my work from the 15 year period 1996-2010 as part of the Doverodde Book Arts Festival 2011 at Limfjordscentret Doverodde, Denmark.

The exhibition shows some of my earlier work, prototypes, sketches and notes for projects and later work including the installation: Cogs – a Book in the Machine (2006) and some original prints from Ambeck's Typographic Bestiary (2006).

Cogs – a Book in the Machine

They came, they flew

A flock of birds.

The installation opened on Friday June 3rd at 4pm with German composer and musician Regine Brunke performing her music piece: Hinter den Farben der Woeken /Behind the colours of the clouds (2008) for viola cello & verrophone (glass tube-instrument) which was a perfect match.

Regine Brunke

As mentioned previously was the installation inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds (1963) and contained 204 hand-cut and stitched birds, of the three common breeds to the area for the time of year: Colóeus monédula (Jackdaw), árus ridibúndus (Black-headed Gull) and the Délichon úrbica (Common House Martin). After 4pm that day any visitor to the 3rd floor of the tower was welcome to cut down a bird at set it free where ever they pleased (i.e. bringing it home with them).

Snip, snip.

The installation will finish on June 26th 2011 at 5pm. Below the tower at Limfjordscentret Doverodde, Denmark where the birds are being kept.

The Tower, Limfjordcentret Doverodde, Denmark.

A lonely bird.

They came, they flew – on local tv

Today was the opening of Doverodde Book Arts Festival 2011 and the official opening of my installation: They came, they flew – 204 hand-cut birds inspired by the Hitchcock movie The Birds from 1963. Here seen on the local tv.

Bestiary Volume II – the creatures are out

I'm excited to announce I recently managed to develop and print more than 30 new characters for the next Ambeck's Typographic Bestiary, A–Z, Volume II – which I plan to complete by the end of 2011.

The idea for Volume II has been there since I finished Volume I in 2006, but finding the right time and place to commence a new adventure in the name of letterpress has taken its time.

In March 2011 new creatures began to appear during my six day residency at Harrington&Squires in Tufnell Park, London (http://www.harringtonandsquires.co.uk/).

The two brilliant letterpress printers and designers – Vicky and Chrissie – left me to it, and let me submerge myself in their lovely collection of wooden letters, and fun began to happen between the inked roller (a shiny new one, I may add) and the nice old proofing press.

Here are a few pics from the action.