BreathS

All the commas and full stops taken from the UK government’s 2020 guidelines for Staying at home and away from others (social distancing).

This pattern was made into a screen print and was the front page of a zine.

Transparency

The almost-nothingness of transparent backgrounds was the starting point for this work. Those grey and white chequered backgrounds that show transparency on graphics files, that are often left unnoticed, intrigued me. I wanted to make something with these overlooked backgrounds.

I like that transparent backgrounds describe a see-though plane by using an opaque pattern. And that they do so in virtual space. I wanted to transform this pattern by making it a material object that would occupy a physical space. I wanted it to unfold the way a map does, something that describes a territory.

Transparency is a map fold book to be held up to see the world beyond it.

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Transparency is part of a project made with members of the art collective Art Byte Critique. Responding to the theme Futuristic Illusion, this book belongs to a collaborative project with books by Arthur Huang, Patty Hudak, Yuko Kamei, Nick West, and Carlee Wolcott. It was first shared at Bristol Artist’s Book Event 2024.

Transparency is part of the collection of artists’ books at the UWE (University of West England).

Mixed Signals

A limited edition of 25 Risograph prints. Printed on A3 paper (140gsm), this work cuts and splices signal flags together to produce a glitchy, abstract pattern. A message may hide therein.

Blog: Book Forms

More Book Forms - hardback, dos-à-dos (back-to-back), zine, concertina, octopus, papyrus scroll, illustrated manuscript, guide book, carousel, choose your own adventure books, experimental books, manga, photobook, bunkobon, dragon scale binding, the anti-book, text books, audiobooks, microform film, and the book as sculpture (Robert The, Readers' Digest).

Even More Book Forms - Japanese stab binding, swatch book, crown binding, fan book, Bananote (by @pichikpachik), exploded book, digital sketchbook, flag book, exquisite corpse, Victorian peep hole, chapbook, passport, colouring book, smart phone book, scroll book (Ai Hashimoto), message in a bottle, dream journal, fish bone fold, altered book (Noriko Ambe), and the world’s largest pop up book.

Tinder

Tinder is a book made from matches and glue. It is the first object in the Books From Things series. The matches were bought from several ¥100 stores in Tokyo. Physically, Tinder is now cinder; it no longer exists.

Tinder was shown at the Launch Pad Gallery, Yokohama and at various Art Book Fairs.

Asemic Writing

Asemic Writing is a wordless form of writing. The word asemic means "having no specific semantic content". I made these by applying ink on paper. I started by designing strokes. I then arranged them on a page, repeating them at intervals that felt right.

The top image shows a work that sold at Launchpad Gallery, Yokohama.

Folded Hands

Folded Hands is a book made from work gloves and thread. Part of the Books From Things series, these gloves were sourced from a local DIY shop and then sewn together. I like that this book reflects the gesture a reader makes when a book lays open before them, and the way they fold together.

Folded Hands was shown at Vancouver Art Book Fair and Tokyo Art Book Fair.

A-Z²

A-Z² is a series of 26 hand-sewn circular books. Each book consists of blank pages cut in the shape of a letter of the alphabet. I have always been attracted to the abstract nature of written language and typography. When I began this work, I wanted to make type concrete, somehow. I was also drawn to the paper’s blankness having so much potential. It’s pregnant with possibility. As I began working with bookbinding techniques, I realised I could expand this potential by making them circular books, obscuring the letter forms in the process.

This work was shown at ONCA in Brighton and as part of the Royal College of Art’s RCA Secret Exhibition.

Subway Origami

Subway Origami combines the subway lines on the Tokyo Metro map with the folds in origami paper. I created it soon after moving to Tokyo, having been in awe at how collapsable space is in the city.

This painting was exhibited at Tacchi Studios, Shibuya and Clouds, Koenji in Tokyo.

Detailed images follow:

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… is a book made from dice and glue, and is part of the Books From Things series. I liked the idea of assembling a book from existing objects. My initial choice of dice was based on the pattern that the dots make, suggesting a code or language.

… was shown at Bristol Art Book Event 2022 and was sold to Bookartbookshop.