Melbourne Athenaeum Library reopens

Melbourne Athenaeum Library has been closed for a couple of months after a section of its ceiling collapsed, requiring substantial repair and conservation work. Against all odds, the damage to books was relatively minimal.

My worktable was set up in the same area for the majority of my term as artist-in-residence in 2018:

Last week, to the delight of its devoted members, Melbourne Athenaeum Library celebrated its reopening with an informal gathering, held directly after the AGM.

It was good to see my artist book, Leaves of Absence, on display. Launched at the library in late 2017, it was acquired for the permanent collection in 2018.

Walking-and-Talking at a snail's pace: a leisurely stroll through PATTERNS OF COLLECTING: FROM THE BOWER AT THE JOHNSTON COLLECTION

The rain is bucketing down as I write, and in its wake come the snails. If not firmly dissuaded, they will devour the lovingly nurtured plants on our Abbotsford balcony down to the stalks.

Thankfully it’s warm and dry inside the Natural History Room at the Johnston Collection Museum and the snail atop my artist book Leaves of Absence, on loan from the museum, is ceramic. An ingenious example of trompe l’oeil, it will leave no slimy trails across the front cover, nor will it chomp on the eucalyptus leaves from Newstead Forest, gathered especially for this project.

Rain or shine, this morning’s Walk-and-Talk at the Johnston Collection with fellow Bower artist Carole Wilson will take place from 10 am – 11.30 am. The event is fully booked, so for those who missed out, a final walk-and-talk is scheduled:

Thursday 13 September 2018 | 10.00 am – 11.30 am with Deborah Klein & Louise Saxton

For further information about the above, or to book a house tour before PATTERNS OF COLLECTING/ From the Bower at the Johnston Collection concludes on 18 September, go HERE: 

Fallen Women at Melbourne Athenaeum Library

Back in March a handful of preview copies of MWP's latest book Fallen Women were featured on the Regional Arts Australia stand at the National Gallery of Victoria's annual Art Book Fair.

Fallen Women contains much of the leaf art that was created following the publication of my artist book Leaves of Absence. Like its predecessor, the book focuses on the virtual absence of Chinese Women during the Australian Gold Rush era. It is prefaced by a short fairy tale.

I'll be discussing these and other Moth Woman Press publications in an informal artist talk at Melbourne Athenaeum Library on Wednesday evening, July 4 from 6 - 7 pm. The event is part of Melbourne Rare Book Week. Attendance is free, but due to space restrictions, bookings are essential. For more about the talk, go HERE.

Wednesday, July 4, 6 - 7 pm
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ART MAKING
Speaker: Deborah Klein
Presented by Melbourne Athenaeum Library
Level 1
188 Collins Street
Melbourne 3000
Phone (03) 9650 3100
Or book online HERE.

For those who can't attend (but do come along if you possibly can) here is Fallen Women, page by page. Click on individual images for a clearer view.

LEAVES OF ABSENCE: 2018 Libris Awards Finalist

With the onset of the Easter break comes some terrific news: my artist book Leaves of Absence is a finalist in the 2018 Libris Awards: Australian Artists’ Book Prize at Artspace Mackay. It’s the first time I’ve entered a work in this esteemed artist books award, and I’m absolutely chuffed.

The exhibition runs from Saturday 26 May - Sunday 29 August. To learn more about the award and for a full list of this year's finalists, visit Artspace Mackay's website HERE.

FALLEN WOMEN, a new book for Melbourne Art Book Fair 2018

As reported in our previous post, Regional Arts Australia have invited me to participate in Regional Arts Words (RAW), a panel discussion they are hosting during Melbourne Art Book Fair 2018. 

To mark the occasion, a new book, Fallen Women, is currently in the making. Its front cover is previewed above. 

Fallen Women will be available at the Regional Arts Australia stand throughout the book fair. Full details of the publication will be provided shortly.

Regional Arts Words (RAW)

The Great Hall 

NGV International 

Friday 16 March 2.30 - 3.15 pm

Melbourne Art Book Fair 2018 runs from Friday 16 March - Sunday 18 March.

Fallen Women

Leaf-by-leaf views of Fallen Women, a sixteen page zine created for last Sunday's superlative Sticky Institute Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair (see previous three posts).

In Fallen Women, the secret of the ghostly Shadow Women of Newstead Forest is at least revealed. The zine is a signed and numbered limited edition of 100 and retails for $6.00.

FOTP2018 #2: The leaves, like women, interchange

This, the second of three zines created for the 2018 Sticky Institute Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair, (aka FOTP2018) marks my fourth “collaboration” with American poet Emily Dickinson. (The other three, Who are You?, Alabaster Chambers and Her own Society are HERE and HERE.)

In our latest zine, Dickinson’s short poem, The leaves, like women, interchange, is matched with seven Shadow Women of Newstead Forest, adding a layer of meaning to the imagery that isn’t too far removed from its original context. 

The new zines, together with a selection from our back catalogue, will be available at the Moth Woman Press Stand.

2018 Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair
Melbourne Town Hall
Sunday 11 February 12 - 5 pm.

2018 Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair

It’s that time of year again. The legendary Sticky Institute Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair is less than a week away and here at Moth Woman Press we’re all abuzz putting the finishing touches to three new publications. This is one of them.

As outlined in our last post, Fallen Women has a more complex structure to our more familiar eight-page mini-zines. Its sixteen pages (fifteen illustrations in full colour, prefaced by a brief introductory essay) enable us to focus in more depth than ever before on the folkloric Shadow Women of Newstead Forest.

The Sticky Institute Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair takes place at Melbourne Town Hall next Sunday, 11 February and runs from 12 - 5 pm.

For a full rundown of Festival of the Photocopier events, go HERE:
http://www.stickyinstitute.com/fotp2018