Poetry Wales & Small Publishers Fair 2018

In Poetry Wales (Volume 53 Number 3, Spring 2018) Chris McCabe reviews The New Concrete Poetry : Visual Poetry in the 21st Century – and includes his account of my text piece – Book Pages Destroyed by Typewriter – included in this collection.

I remember standing at a photocopier with Daniel Lehan and moving around his work ‘Book Pages Destroyed by Typewriter’. We thought the pages with the holes in would be the most interesting but they weren’t, it was the pieces that had fallen out. We placed them on a glass surface and seared them with electric light.

https://www.poetrywales.co.uk

http://smallpublishersfair.co.uk

Small Publishers’ Fair

I am delighted to be participating for the first time in the Small Publishers’ Fair taking place on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th of November 2018 at Conway Hall, Bloomsbury, London.

http://smallpublishersfair.co.uk

These recently produced books will be added to the number of my books available at the fair.

Henri Rousseau’s Paintings of Glen Coe – 12.8 x 19 cm, 17 pages, laser printed, stab bound, £10.00

The Isle Of Skye A Handbook For Tourists – 12.8 x 19.8 cm, 14 pages, laser printed, stab bound, £10.00

Lets See Glen Coe – 12.6 x 18.8 cm, 13 pages, laser printed, stab bound, £10.00

Inverness, The Cairngorms And The Great Glen, collaged with text from How To Drive A Car – 13.2 x 19.8 cm, 15 pages, laser printed, stab bound, £10.00

Maintain A Light Contact – 19.8 x 12 cm, 8 pages, laser printed, pamphlet bound, £5.00

Road Signs That Make For Safety – 14.5 x 10.4 cm, 6 pages, laser printed, pamphlet bound, £5.00

A L’école Nationale D’élevage (At The National Breeding School) – 6 x 9.5 cm, 6 pages, laser printed, staple bound, £3.00

Window Display

A display of five

in the window of

these boxes form part of an ongoing series of collaged cigar boxes – the boxes will be shown for a little while, then will be viewable inside the shop.

https://bookartbookshop.com

Installation shots

Image of each box . . .

Frankenstein In Liverpool, Asheville, and Santander

The Liverpool Book Fair took place at the Central Library on the 7 and 8 June 2018

and I took time away from my table, taking the opportunity to see the Frankenstein themed Book Art Exhibition held in the magnificent Victorian libraries upstairs – with its whispering gallery, and an original copy of Audubon’s Birds of America (1827 -38). The exhibition included copies of my Frankenstein based book –  RINFANTENESK – and a framed collage exhibited in glass cabinets. RINFANTENESK is include here in Sarah Bodman’s review of the exhibition for A-N magazine

https://www.a-n.co.uk/news/artists-books-31-marking-200-years-mary-shelleys-frankenstein/

Images of the exhibition courtesy of Robin Crewley . . .

My dear kind Henry, thank you for you letter of September 9th

For some days I was writhed under the ice of the mountain

unseen and unknown the dreams of forgotten wondrous works crept over me

perfect solitary from all I love I listened to the song of the birds

I should have died

My dear Clerval ! beloved friend ! you should be here

The mercenary old nurse with silver hairs

bestowed such joy upon me

roused me to

dabble in dirt

looking at the stars

with the joy a child feels

The next morning, at daybreak

I drew nearer home

Be assured, sir

I shall be for ever grateful

My dear Felix and Safie

I clapped my hands for joy wafted to a land

far north of London On the third day I was now alone

with a hasty step my joints more supple I ceased to fear

the sweet voice of a bird

had leisure for reflection

I often sat for hours motionless and speechless

eyes half closed to compose my mind no one near me

A thousand times I felt the silence

Several months passed in this manner

I shall no longer feel the agonies Remember that Heaven bless you

https://ashevillebookworks.com/its-alive-frankenstein-200-years/

Finally to Santander, Spain for – Encounters with Books / Encuentro con Libro – an exhibition in an artist’s book, produced in English and Spanish, for IMPACT 10, Printmaking Conference, 1 to 9 September 2018.

Artists from Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, UK and USA were invited to participate in this collaborative book. They have sent their own encounters with books to share with you at the Biblioteca Central Cantabria in Santander . . .

Introduction by Sarah Bodman, Centre for Fine Print Research, UWE Bristol, a fuller description is here http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/encounters

My contribution to the book is a text comprising of phrases cut from Frankenstein, composed to comment upon my reading of Frankenstein . . .

Encounters with Frankenstein

It was in the latter end of September that among the deserts of Scotland I chanced upon a volume of this book, I read with the greatest avidity. So ardent and eager I could not sleep. I spent the winter in this manner. Through this work I learned the words, fire, milk, sister, spirit, brother, bread, and wood, and wrote down a list of several other words, such as good, dearest, unhappy then dome, and Paradise and sorrows and wedding. I lay on my straw, as I read, and learnt of vice and bloodshed, of pale radiance amongst the moonlight woods; of the blind mole or harmless worm, of utter and stupid despair. Mary’s was the only story to be wonderful her dark eyes, fringed by deep lashes, and her words pierce my heart. The silent working of words from her plunge me into a tingling long-lost sense of pleasure. I was overcome by these feelings. I jumped over chairs, soaring amidst the clouds her words bade me be at peace in dreams of bliss to rapture. I was now free.

Frankenstein – Liverpool & Knowsley Book Art Exhibition

Liverpool Book Art celebrates the 200th Anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein with two exhibitions – at the Central Library, Liverpool from 14 May to 9 August 2018, and at the Kirby Gallery, Knowsley from 17 September 2018 to 26 January 2019. A framed collage is included in both exhibitions and also two copies of my book RINFANTENESK.

The framed work is made from phrases cut from Frankenstein, and takes the form of a letter addressed to John Melbourne Esq, a character in the novel. The text is pasted on to a photograph from Au Coeur De L’Antarctique, (Librairie Hachette Et Cie, 1911) a battered book I bought in Paris for 4 euros, which documents Shackelton’s Antarctic Expeditions.

A further 18 collages – similarly made – comprise the stab bound book – RINFANTENESK – printed in several colour combinations, blue on orange paper, red on orange paper, black on orange paper, and black on black paper.

Copies of these will be stocked on my table at the forthcoming Liverpool Book Fair held also at the Central Library Liverpool over the weekend of 7 and 8 July.

I AM A SQUARE at Counter Book Fair

Film of I AM A SQUARE performed at the Counter Book Fair, March 17 2018 is now viewable here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfwpzXkDBoQ

I AM A SQAURE – a sound text piece comprising words, poems and songs is performed on a battery powered child’s Alphabet Desk, referencing Dada sound poetry, and my previous performance at Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich.

Exhibition at Bower Ashton Library, University of West England, Bristol

19 April to 30 June 2018

D A Y P A G E S is an exhibition at Bower Ashton Library, University of West England, Bristol, of volumes of my daily collaged diary, and a range of recently printed collaged books.

The Saint on the radio reminds me of The Saint on TV with Roger Moore, and also the series The Persuaders with Moore and Tony Curtis. Curtis was married to Christine Kaufman, a friend of Joseph Cornell I think he made a ‘box’ for her. Picked up Metros from station – a yellow concrete mixer with ACE written on it in bright red – a yellow sign which reads Car Wash 7 Days A Week – a parakeet on Nunhead Green.

This is part of the first D A Y P A G E entry, dated 23 February 2015. Cornell was very much in my mind having just read Dreams, a collection of his dreams, and having found on Deptford Market a film magazine with a photograph of Curtis and Kaufman with their baby. In deciding to keep a daily collaged visual diary I was, of course, tipping my hat towards Cornell.

I regret not having kept a diary before. There were brief episodes when I did. But nothing consistent. Now I find a degree of comfort in keeping a diary. It has become a consistent and reassuring part of what I do each day – I can’t imagine NOT keeping a dairy. Furthermore reading it tells me what I did on a particular day, a way of preserving memories of the past. With D A Y P A G E S I decided that the text would be typed, and I would include only images that referred directly to events of that day. Occasionally, I know I have an image that would fit the entry, as with the entry above – a parakeet – and will include it, but I dont ever go about trying to find an image, as that starts to approach a more conscious, and deliberate ‘picture making’ rather than using materials that arise each day.

I think it is the use of visual material that maintains my interest in this project. Keeping a text only diary doesn’t particularly interest me. I like the varying sources of images – the free Metro newspaper provides the majority of these. I also include till receipts, gallery handouts, paper bags, and fast food delivery leaflets sometimes typing directly onto these. I use two typewriters – an Olympia Werke Ag Wilhelmshaven – a beast of a machine from a cat rescue charity shop in Walthamstow – for use at home, and a portable Empire Corona De Luxe, which I use when I am away from home. I tend to be an imperfect typist, so words are often misspelt, or I forget to add the space between words – this can throw up unusual word combinations.

Each D A Y P A G E entry is collaged onto a page, occasionally two pages of a book, usually a scrapbook – I also use large music stave books, ledgers, stamp albums, even a concertina drawing book – I particularly like using partially filled scrapbooks which I find here and there, adding my diary entry to the items already pasted on the page, enjoying the unpredictability of these juxtapositions, and the feeling of adding one layer of time to another.

I try to vary the size and type of books I use for the D A Y P A G E S, this creatively ‘keeps me on my toes’ and not to repeat a well practised and predictable look, which, I am cautious of, and would occur more readily if using the same size and type of book. This attempt to keep the making of the pages ‘fresh’ is maintained by how the pages are made, usually starting by pasting any images onto the page, then typing and cutting out the text, all without planning how things will be spaced out. The challenge is then to arrange the text around / over the images so that it all fits. Most times there is an almost uncanny bringing together – everything comes together – though I also enjoy when this doesn’t happen and I have to find spaces for the text to go.

A  D A Y P A G E might record daily activities, thoughts, conversations, my studio work, a recipe, a response to an exhibition, a sports item (particularly about Leeds United) or a news story. I have found that a news story or event often ‘stretches’ across days, even months. Becoming a running theme to the entries. For example the death of David Bowie. The D A Y P A G E S leading up to his death, have newspaper items about the forthcoming release of Blackstar – his last album. Days later, the news of death, and continually since then the many responses to his death. Yesterday’s entry has a picture cut from The Observer of the musician Moby with Bowie. Close friends, Bowie one day gave Moby the hat he wore in The Man Who Fell To Earth.

I sometimes wonder what it might be like to produce D A Y P A G E S that record everything . . . recording every possible thing that occurs during just one day – an impossibility of course – an endless Proustian task, and how big would the page need to be ?

DAY PAGE 15 March 2015                     DAY PAGE 4 April 2015                       DAY PAGE 8 April 2015

DAY PAGE 17 April 2015                      DAY PAGE 10 July 2105                      DAY PAGE 20 July 2105

Jaipur, Dehli, & Agra, Travels Into Riso Print, Three Books By Daniel Lehan

10 to 7 April 2018

This exhibition at bookartbookshop launches three Riso books, and features in the shop window, the original collaged postcards which form the basis for the books.

The books were printed at the London Centre for Book Arts, where I usually produce editions of collaged concertina books. These Riso books are the first that I have made. The texts of each book derives from texts cut from tourist guides and histories of each city. Each copy is stab bound and a sheet of glassine separates each page. The books are approximately three times the size of the original postcard books. I am grateful to the book artist George Cullen for his help, and technical support in the making of these books.

bookartbookshop, 17 Pitfield Street, London

http://www.bookartbookshop.com

Counter

Counter: 4th Edition

I will be participating in the Counter Book Fair in Plymouth on Saturday 17 March, with a stall offering a wide selection of my books, and with a performance of – I AM A SQUARE – a sound text piece comprising words, poems and songs performed on a battery powered child’s Alphabet Desk, referencing Dada sound poetry, and a previous performance at Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich.

Counter will bring together artists, photographers, illustrators and publishers, from across the UK and beyond. The book fair will showcase 37 tablers making a range of unique publications and limited editions ranging from zines and comics to photo books, catalogues and illustrated poetry.

Exhibitors at the Book Fair include ~ Analogue Collective,  Antler Press,  Artist Tea Towel Company,  As Yet Untitled,  Atlantic Press Books,  Benjamin Wright,  Bristol Brunswick Fig,  Clare Rogers,  Close and Remote,  Daniel Lehan,  Elena Brake,  Foreground,  Fotonow,  G.F Smith,  Guy Bigland,  H G makes,  Impact Press,  J. R. Carpenter,  Jessica Wright,  KLD Repro,  Laura Rosser,  Makina Books,  Mark Pawson,  Matthew Kay,  Midnakit & Plymouth Zine Library,  Plymouth University Illustration,  Pirrip Press,  Pylon Press,  Rachael Jenkins,  Rhys Morgan,   Semple Press,  SHAPE OF ACCESS,  Sister Sister,  STANDINGFRAME18,  TAZI ZINE,  The Art Vending Machine,  Uniformbooks.

Counter: 4th Edition, Saturday 17 March 2018, 12-6pm 
at Ocean Studios, Royal William Yard, Plymouth, PL1 3RP

Scribbling & Scrawling

An open call exhibition presenting new visual literature on the theme of Scribbling & Scrawling – works that explore the handmade, the illegible, the dirty, the rough, the visual, the material, the calligraphic, the link – works which resist their content and express their context. Works that celebrate the notation, the forgotten, the colourful.

My – Young Woman Recounts Nightmare During Supper – 2014 – is included in this exhibition.

Exhibitors include

Lisa Kiew / Simone Kay / Adam Baron / Patrick Cosgrove / Alan Boyce / Simon Tyrell / Lucy Furlong / Yvonne Litschel / Molly Bergin / Dacy Lim / Silje Ree / Shelisha Johnson / Julia Rose Lewis / Olga Kolesnikova, Denise McCulloch / MJ Weller / Daniele Pantano / Paul Hawkins / Daniel Lehan / Deborah Sibbald / Mark Jackson / Lucy Crump / Alison Miller / SJ Fowler / Nicole Polonsky

Exhibition continues to 21 March 2018