Moth Woman Press on the move

A copy of Leaves of Absence (2017), our unbound artist book, has just been reserved by the State Library of Victoria. The book is pictured below in our Abbotsford study. Shortly thereafter it was packaged up in readiness for delivery to the library, where it was placed in the capable hands of Des Cowley, History of the Book Manager/Collection Development and Discovery.

Meanwhile, as previously announced, next Friday, 16 March, between 2.30 - 3.15 pm, I'm participating in Regional Arts Words (RAW), a panel discussion hosted by Regional Arts Australia at Melbourne Art Book Fair 2018. My contribution will include a show and tell of Leaves of Absence, a project that sprung unexpectedly to life during a walk in Newstead Forest in the Victorian goldfields. 

As I write, the presses are rolling for Fallen Women, the little book we've made especially for the book fair. Early this week we okayed the final proofs and mockup (pictured below). Fallen Women contains a selection of works that were made subsequent to Leaves of Absence, preceded by a short fairy tale. Although it's a stand alone publication, Fallen Women is the key that unlocks the secret of the mysterious Shadow Women in Leaves of Absence. The book will be available from the Regional Arts Australia stand and I'll have some extra copies with me at the RAW talk.

RAW will be the sole voice of Australian regional arts at the book fair, so do come along if you can.

For full details of RAW and Melbourne Art Book Fair 2018, scroll down to our last post.

In further news, the State Library of Victoria/Sticky Institute show Self-made: Zines and Artist Books continues its run, opening today, 9 March, at Bunjil Place. Included in the exhibition are Moth Woman Press zines Tattooed Faces and Moth Woman Vigilantes. Self-made runs until 29 April. For full details, go HERE.

An installation view is directly below. Photo credit: Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison.

SELF-MADE: ZINES AND ARTIST BOOKS

Dashing around central Melbourne in between Melbourne International Film Festival venues, I happened upon this poster (x2) for SELF-MADE: ZINES AND ARTIST BOOKS, a free exhibition at the State Library of Victoria. It opened yesterday, 11 August, and runs until 12 November. Two Moth Woman Press zines, Tattooed Faces and Moth Woman Vigilantes, are part of the show, which was curated by Monica Syrette. I haven't had a chance to see it yet because of back-to-back MIFF movies (I'm seeing 55 films over 16 days - I just did a count) but look forward to dropping by next week on a day of less solidly booked screenings. 

A link to the exhibition and related events is HERE.

MWP zines at Sticky Institute

Stocked at Sticky: Top row: The Shadow Women 1-3 and Card Sharps
Bottom row: Poker Faces, Tattooed Faces and
Tattooed Faces in Living Colour

Since Hand Held Gallery closed its doors in 2013, Moth Woman Press has felt rather like a ship without a sail. The aesthetic of our zines was in comfortable alignment with the artist books and zines that gallery director Megan Herring showed; in fact, many were sources of inspiration for our own fledgling efforts.

Despite Melbourne’s thriving zine culture, as witnessed by the annual Sticky Institute Festival of the Photocopier zine fair (FOTP) held last month at Melbourne Town Hall, commercial outlets for zines are somewhat thin on the ground - at least, as far as I've discovered.

There is, however, a notable exception, namely the above mentioned Sticky Institute, a veritable Aladdin’s cave located in the Degraves Street Subway, Campbell’s Arcade (“Under Flinders Street Station”, as they say on their website).

My first memories of this arcade, with its distinctive pink tiles and art deco curves, date from childhood train trips to the city with my parents. Sticky has been there for considerably less time than that, but since its formation in 2006, it has firmly established itself as the mecca for zine culture in Melbourne.

Campbell's Arcade, Degraves Street Subway, leading to platforms
for Flinders Street Station

As of yesterday, a small selection of MWP zines are now stocked by Sticky. I’m not sure why it took me so long to approach them. I’ve visited many times, and have acquired numerous zines for my personal collection from there. I guess I had it in my head that the aesthetic of my own zines wouldn’t fit in with those at Sticky, and that they’d be rejected out of hand. In fact, Sticky shows an astonishing range of zines, and I’m thrilled that seven Moth Woman Press publications have joined their number.

Sticky Institute

2016 Sticky Institute Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair

Aside from a couple of minor tasks, my work for the zine fair is done. If you are in the area on Sunday afternoon, do call in and stop by the Moth Woman Press table to say hello. An invitation of your very own is here:

Left: FOTP 2016 poster; righthand column: a selection of Moth Woman Press zines

Inking Up opening and exhibition catalogue

Thanks to everyone who attended the exhibition opening of Inking Up at Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum on Saturday, 5 September, and for your warm responses to the work.

One of the day's many highlights was seeing the exhibition catalogue for the first time. It was the inspired idea of Gallery Director Jennifer Kalionis to present the catalogue as a USB stick in the form of a familiar tattoo motif (the anchor was our unanimous choice). The USB contains Dr Thomas Middlemost's catalogue essay and selected works by Inking Up artists Clayton Tremlett, Rona Green and myself.

Below is a montage of more of the day's highlights. Click on image to enlarge.

Above left: DK in tattooed-patterned skirt
Top right hand corner: Shane Jones peruses Clayton Tremlett's artist book; my linocuts are on the right
Second from top: Linocuts by Rona Green
Third from top: Exhibition launch: Jennifer Kalionis and Clayton Tremlett are respectively first and second from left
Bottom right hand corner: Castlemaine Art Gallery Director Jennifer Kalionis and I

Inking up continues until 18 October. Full details are on the gallery's website HERE.

Tattooed Faces in Living Colour - a new mini-zine, Part 2

To commemorate the exhibition Inking Up*, which recently opened at Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, I've produced two new mini-zines, both of which focus on my Tattooed Faces imagery.

An invitation to the official launch on Saturday, 5 September at 3 pm is directly below, followed by page views of the mini-zine Tattooed Faces in Living Colour. (To see its sister zine, Tattooed Faces, scroll down to previous post).

Pictured above:

Tattooed Faces in Living Colour, mini-zine (photocopy, 10.5 x 7.5 cm, signed and numbered limited edition of 100). The zine is available through Moth Woman Press for $4.00, plus postage.

*Inking Up (with Rona Green, Clayton Tremlett and Deborah Klein)
Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum
14 Lyttleton Street
Castlemaine Vic 3450
http://www.castlemainegallery.com
29 August – 18 October 2015.

Tattooed Faces - a new mini-zine (Part 2)

Further to our blog post of 11 August, the mini-zine Tattooed Faces is now completed.

Pictured below: Tattooed Faces, (photocopy, 10.5 x 7.5 cm, signed and numbered limited edition of 100). The zine is available through Moth Woman Press for $4.00, plus postage.

Tattooed Faces in Living Colour

Our last post previewed Tattooed Faces, a new mini-zine. Since then, work has commenced on its sister publication, Tattooed Faces in Living colour.

Their simultaneous release is timed to coincide with the group show Inking Up at Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, which opens to the public on 29 August. For full details of the exhibition, scroll down to previous post.

Under construction: limited edition mini-zine Tattooed Faces in Living Colour
Click on image to enlarge

An exhibition and a new zine

Here at Moth Woman Press work is currently under way on Tattooed Faces, a mini-zine designed to coincide with Inking Up, a forthcoming three-person exhibition at Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum that will focus on the tattoo in art. Details of the show are as follows:

Inking Up (with Rona Green, Clayton Tremlett and Deborah Klein)
Castlemaine Art Gallery & Historical Museum
14 Lyttleton Street
Castlemaine Vic 3450
http://www.castlemainegallery.com
29 August – 18 October 2015.

Cutting and folding of the zine has commenced, as previewed below. (Click on image to enlarge).