My self-destroying book edition, Illegible, is partially on view in Artful Books 2021, on view at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, Florida, from November 15, 2021 through January 16, 2022.
The book is double-sided, featuring a self-destroying screenprint and solvent transfer on one side, and a variable, split-fountain screenprint on the other side. The book can be opened to show either side, can be displayed standing as a sculpture, with the center revealing the opposite side, or can simply be read as a book. As the edition numbers get higher, the book becomes more difficult to read, as more ink floods each impression; this action mimics the content of the story, which is a short story that I wrote from the point of view of myself as an old woman reflecting on the Miami of my childhood–from a likely, flooded-out future, to the clearer waters of the past.
My books were displayed in a vitrine alongside the work of Purvis Young. As a result of this exhibition, edition numbers 2, 3, and 4 from the edition have been acquired by the University of Miami Special Collections.
You can watch me page through a couple of the books in the edition starting at 9:18 in this video, which I made to introduce students to my work.
Some information about the show is below
Including works by some of Florida’s best contemporary artists, this exhibition contains fascinating and widely creative examples of books as sculptures. The first Artful Book exhibition, curated by independent Miami-based curator Barbara Young, took place in November of 2019 in conjunction with the Miami-Dade Library’s famous Book Fair which is one of the most renowned events of its kind in the country. In conjunction with LnS GALLERY, Miami, MOAS is pleased to showcase this unique art form in the celebration of books, literature, fine art and creativity. The objects included may be crafted of the finest leathers and papers or assembled from repurposed materials or books. Often they are made of delightfully unexpected, textured materials and are as varied as their creators.