Typonegative II

Edition of 20. Signed, dated, numbered.
 - 44 pages
 - full colour
 - 11cm x 11cm

*There is No Digital Printing in this edition. 

It's all about the surface qualities! These are visceral, tactile artefacts. The size, shape and texture have a distinctive feel, like the visual impact of every page. Narrative and meaning are strongly affected by contrasting imagery. The text is deeply embedded in the context and this structure in return, shapes the narrative.

Context is everything. The surface of the image is our cage. Reductionism, imposed and innate, in conjunction with non-linear image and abstract narratives, snapshots and soundbites, define moments. 160 characters to express the breadth, depth and height of humanity as it stands here, now. This is how we have come to see our small corner of the planet Earth. Empires imploding, collapsing in on themselves while refugees of unreconstructed cultures look on with a mixture of glee and horror.

Glossy magazine pages are cropped to exclude any text without prejudice, leaving pure image on both sides. More difficult than you think, but has a powerful effect on the imagery and context of each page. Any remaining unavoidable text is redacted adding yet another level to the narrative. These pages are then interleaved with prints, paintings and my own text produced in the studio, and bound together in handmade covers. 

Because of the way the content is gathered, no two copies are identical. Every copy is unique. They do however, all share a common narrative and structure as I've said. Every copy has multiple hand produced/finished elements including:-  - linocut,  - screen print,  - hand rendered text,  - painting,  - offset letterpress,  - graphite rubbing,  - stencil,  - stamped text,  - hand finished stickers and more. All hand stitched into covers made from a unique and intriguing material.

This book has evolved from a quick self-motivational one day project into a full on celebration of the physical, visceral possibilities of a small home studio, with its inherent limitations and a little knowledge of a few basic processes.I've worked under the pressure of limited resources for so long now, that finding creative effective ways of doing things is second nature to me. I know what the end result ought to be, and how it would be achieved in a fully, properly equipped studio. Working out how to get there without necessarily the 'right' equipment is fiendishly challenging sometimes, and you have to be prepared to compromise in all sorts of ways. 

When you're editioning for something like a book project, your criteria naturally include repeatability and working like this (above), uniformity and consistency are exchanged for individuality.

All good fun! You're right - I could have done all this digitally - but where's the fun in that?