Books

The narrative form of the book, with all its possibilities, is what interests me. I like the range of materials and ideas which can be incorporated into exciting and imaginative formats.

My books are mainly visual and the content deals with ideas about life, death and human values.

Ideas which are often challenging, are gently probed, often using an analogy found in nature. The thought processes before production are the most important, but I enjoy making because I always make the form of the book serve the idea in it. The form of the book is therefore very varied.

I print either digitally or by hand and all my books are hand stitched and bound.

 

 

My books are in The British Library, the Tate Library Archive, the Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections Library, books in Marseille at Atelier-vis-a-vis, the Artist Book Archive Milan, The University of Bilkent, Turkey and The University of Puget Sound, Tacoma USA, The British Library and many private collections around the world

 

I have led a group called “Superstudio.”

The group, which was made up of Lecturers and MA Alumni from Bradford College, engaged with Atelier Vis a Vis in Marseille, France and took part in several successful book fairs and events there.

I have also led “Hard Copy” a collaboration with Prue Dixon, Caro Blount-Shah and Barbara Greene.

 

The Land Layers’ Through Time.

These are two books which were part of the Installation of the same Name. The Landscape of this country has been overwritten by man many times. It holds so much information about the past.

“The Landscape, The Palimpsest, The Archive, is a book which can hang from its string to display its “replica” archaeological find.

“England was part of the Continent” is my reference to the Mesolithic period when there was just one joined land mass. Its significance today is the forced separation called Brexit.

 

The Good Old Days.

Post cards from the mid 20th Century, illustrating the realities of the recent past. Seventy- year-olds who were children then, have written fictitious but telling messages home. Each pack contains seven original old postcards.

 

Reading Water (Isherat)

Isherat or reading water is a complex skill through which the weather and water can be understood and its effects predicted by looking for visual signs.

 

  • This image slides automatically

Looking for The Enemy

Borders

This is a book cut in half by a border. It can be bought as a pair, to get the full picture, or just as a half. The overlays on tracing paper show images about refugees from newspapers.

Borders in the garden are full of plants which have crossed borders, stolen in arrogant colonial fashion from other countries and renamed. We call these plants our own.

The people who need to cross borders to safety are not so welcome here.

Looking for The Enemy

Some people need to vent their anger on an enemy and can easily find one. Others are afraid of anything, Are we right to look in the sky for our enemy?  I began this book in response to George Bush’s War on Terror.

 

 

 

De La Terre

From the earth, a hanging book, which illustrates the burgeoning garden from winter to summer and the feeding of it with compost.

 

Something Rich and Strange.

A fan shaped book which opens out into a circle. The theme is the circularity of organic matter, compost, soil and ultimately, ourselves. Further information can be found in the Installations area of this site.

 

Nichoir/ Nest Box

 

An exhibition in a box, covering the many ways we exploit or enjoy a fellow creature.

 

I, With the Wooden Insect.

Dylan Thomas’ poem about climbing a tree. The book spine was made by an insect grub.

After Real

A book about the digital and Virtual Image.

Return