Altered Books exhibition in WSA Library
We are pleased to be launching our first exhibition of the year in our display cases in the Library welcome area. We are showing altered books made by WSA students in response to an invitation to create and submit artworks for a project developed by MA Contemporary Curation students.
The student works were previously part of an exhibition held in the Winchester Gallery just before Christmas that also showed staff work and examples of altered books from the Library’s Artists’ Book Collection.
The brief provided for participants was to alter a second-hand book of their choice, in whichever way they felt inspired to do, changing its original form. Nine pieces have been selected for the current exhibition.
Altering books marries two creative and expressive practices: art and literature. Some pieces shown are an interpretation of the content of the book chosen, whilst some purely utilize the material. In the process of physical alteration, the meaning of the book can be altered too.
Here are some that show the diversity of work:
Noriko Suzuki-Bosco
‘Omu Rice’ (Ketchup Rice), by Noriko Suzuki -Bosco, is a tiny and beautiful duo of Origami cranes, contained in a box made from pages. – Phd Student
Rhiannon Stopczynski
‘Books are Portals to Other Worlds’ is by Rhianna Stopczynski. Have you ever mused on the escapism a book can provide from our own reality? This altered book is like an apothecary’s cabinet of the surreal. It contains so much detail, just keep looking and you’ll notice something else! – BA Fine Art, Level 1.
Natasha Dalziel
Natasha Dalziel’s ‘Carousel’ is another beautiful work in the exhibition. The book entitled ‘Training your Pony’ has become a delicate carousel of mirrored children on horseback. – BA Fine Art, Level 2.
The exhibition is on from 16 February – 3 March 2017 and is open Monday – Friday 9.00am – 7.00pm and on Saturdays from 10.00am – 4.00pm.
The Artists’ Book Collection is a specialist reference collection at Winchester School of Art Library. If you would like to view any of the altered books represented in the collection, or look at any of the other works then please make an appointment by emailing wsaenqs@soton.ac.uk
Robynne Willowby, February 2017