(One (original) collaged penguin postcard in its new home inlaid within a custom-made Solander box. (A special order for Jane and Graham.))
(An artists' book one step closer to all done.)
(Costumes fitted. Whiskers glued. Feathers preened. This is new work. #theworkingtable #NGVABF)
(The Japanese Hole Punch from earlier bookbinding days getting an afternoon workout.)
(300 zines almost done, with tiny supervisor for scale.)
(In the studio, G adds tiny white spots with a 000-sized brush.)
(A brief smoko.)
(Signed and editioned piles for #NGVABF: Whoot-woo X 100 and Shaped like that of an egg X 100)
(Production lines I will never tire of.)
(Gracia's recent collage on a cartes de visite, In the borrowed costume for a Bluebird from The Sleeping Princess (designed by Léon Bakst, c. 1921).)
In literature we find bountiful descriptions of populated woodlands, wild rocky sea cliffs and shorelines. Gracia and Louise skilfully bring such scenes to life in both large-scale prints and the tiniest pocket sized zines. Landscapes and cityscapes, animals and winged creatures appear in reimagined form as seemingly impossible scenarios become routine. Evocative panoramic scenes borrowed from vintage postcards and books provide the backdrop for many new works. With the addition of collage, pencil and text, fragments from the past are transformed into new tales and stories. Gracia Haby’s artists’ book As if from the clouds, restless (February, 2014) unfolds like a Japanese screen to reveal colourful trapeze artists appearing to traverse rocky snow-capped Swiss Alps. The cut-out oversized figures swing and soar in and out of each frame. Never landing, always in flight, they are accompanied by large, imposing animals. A splendid hoopoe (Upupa epops) perches on the behind of one of the trapeze artists, and a cunning dhole (Cuon alpinus) observes on high from a rocky outcrop. The multi-layered parts of this work represent Gracia and Louise’s practice to a tee: they forage for old images, books and postcards from the past and interrupt them with carefully selected collaged pieces and drawing to create a new narrative. One is reminded of Max Ernst’s wonderful volumes of surrealist artist books Une Semaine de Bonté (1933-1934): those seamlessly twisted images are so carefully printed it is impossible to detect the artist’s intervention.
(Olivia Meehan, A Poetic Partnership, Imprint magazine, autumn 2015, pp.18-19)
As artists' books are finished and zines are bound in the studio, here are two recent (and beautiful) written pieces for you to read:
Olivia Meehan's written piece, A Poetic Partnership: The work of Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison, especially for Imprint's Collaboration issue, autumn 2015
and
Alice Cannon's review of the Salvaged Relatives editions, launched in February of this year at Milly Sleeping, especially for the Centre for Fine Print Research's Book Arts Newsletter
Thank-you Olivia, Alice, Imprint magazine, and the Book Arts Newsletter.
Happy reading!
