Recent acquisitions by the State Library of Queensland, Part 2

 

I’ve long been attracted to the accessible, inclusive, collectable and affordable nature of zines. I have a small collection of my own and have also been making them for numerous years, a pleasurable and satisfying activity I’ve lately begun to question, as it has become increasingly difficult to find outlets for them. Aside from that, I may possibly be the oldest zinester in the world, and with recent directional changes in my work, wondered if the time had come to move on. 

Then, out of the blue, I received an email from the State Library of Queensland expressing interest in acquiring one of my artist books and a selection of Moth Woman Press zines.

The Moth Woman Press zines pictured above and listed below have just been acquired for the Artists’ Books Collection of the State Library of Queensland:

Card Sharps, 2013, 10.5 x 7.5 cm, ed. 100

Hair Pieces, 2015, 10 (H) x 7 (W) cm, ed. 100

Hair Pieces 2, 2016, 10 (H) x 7 (W) cm, ed. 100

Tattooed Faces in Living Colour, 2015, Ed. 10 (H) x 7 (W) cm, 10 (H) x 7 (W) cm, ed. 100

The Shadow Women, 2014, 10 (H) x 7 (W) cm, ed. 100

The Shadow Women 3, 2014, Ed. 21/100, 10 (H) x 7 (W) cm, ed. 100

Homo-insecta 2 - A mini-zine, 2014, 10 (H) x 7 (W) cm, ed. 80

Homo-insecta 4 - A mini-zine, 2014, Ed. 10 (H) x 7 (W) cm, ed. 80

Backstories, 2020,l, 10 (H) x 7 (W) cm, ed. 80

Shadowomen 4, 2022, 9.5 (H) x 7.2 (W) cm, 9.5 (H) x 7.2 (W) cm, ed. 80

Republic of Mothstralia Postage Stamps - Socialist Butterflies - Special Collector’s Edition, 2023, 8.5 (H) x 7.2 (W) cm, ed. 80

With the exception of Card Sharps, another copy of which is already in the collection, a duplicate set of zines has been acquired for the State Library of Queensland’s Education Kit for use during school visits. 

Scroll down to our previous post for a list of additional MWP publications held by the State Library of Queensland.

Moth Woman Press publications are also held in the permanent collections of the State Library of Victoria, National Library of Australia, ACT, National Gallery of Australia, ACT, Melbourne Atheneaum Library and other public institutions. 

Recent acquisitions by the State Library of Queensland Part 1

 

2025 is certainly off to a fine start for Moth Woman Press. As I write, Firebrand, 2017, our one-of-a-kind concertina book, is en route to the State Library of Queensland. The library has just acquired it for their permanent collection, along with a selection of MWP zines. Details of the latter will follow in our next post. 

The following is a list of Moth Woman Press publications already held in the Library’s collection:

There was once…the collected fairy tales, 2009, stories and pictures by Deborah Klein. (See previous post).

2 copies of Women with wings, both from the Support Association for the Women of Afghanistan, 2010 project: 

Women with wings [1] Linocuts by Deborah Klein; text by Majabeen

Women with wings [2] Linocuts by Deborah Klein; text by Mahjan

Eve's apple, 2013, from the Tall Tales series of unique vertical concertina books

Card Sharps, 2013, zine, colour photocopy, 10.5 x 7.5 cm, ed. 100

Pictured top: Firebrand, 2017, unique artist book, pigmented drawing ink and acrylic paint on Khadi paper, cloth cover with debossed text, 15.5 x 16.5 cm (closed). Collection: State Library of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD.

‘There was once… the collected fairy tales’ in the State Library of Queensland

This week I was happily surprised to learn that There was once… the collected fairy tales (2009), the first book I ever wrote and the first ever Moth Woman Press publication, is part of the permanent collection of the State Library of Queensland. The book is on display in the Australian Library of Art Showcase on level 4.  

The ALA Showcase is currently focusing on fantasy literature, nonsense and fairy tales. My book is paired with the catalogue of The enchanted forest - new gothic storytellers (2008), a NETS Australia touring exhibition curated by Jazmina Cininas, who wrote the catalogue essay, as well as participating in the exhibition, along with Louise Weaver, Milan Milojevic, Louiseann Zahra-King, James Morrison and me. The works I made for The enchanted forest were the catalyst for the first of my fairy tales, beginning with The Story of the Moth Masks. 

Installation views: Christene Drewe, Specialist Librarian, State Library of Queensland. Click on images to enlarge.