Folding play

As part of my "Writing/Not-Writing" project earlier this year I made a large number of A2 drawings of "not-writing", and realised that these mark would make interesting material for folded books.  The concept of an artist's book implies the potential for books to be things which can be enjoyed as pieces of art in themselves, without the assumption that books are places for recording words, information, ideas, which are based on written or printed script which can be read.  An artist's book does not demand to be read, but rather to be looked at, handled, turned over and experienced.  Using marks which resemble script, but which are in fact not "meaningful" writing at all, explores this idea and suggests to the viewer that the book is an artefact which holds the potential for word-based meaning which in this case is with-held.

My sheets of not-wriing were done on heavy-weight cartridge paper which lends itself very well to making firm folds with an almost architectural quality: the folds are resilient and will stand up on their own: perfect for folded books.

I cut a number of 2" strips across my drawings and then folded each one in half, and then in half and in half again.  I then made further diagonal folds, bending these backwards and forwards in different ways.  I liked the sculptural qualities which they exposed, and found I was playing with them to make a variety of curved and convex shapes.