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.

An Important Message for Followers of MOTH WOMAN PRESS

From July 1, for reasons best known to themselves, Google will remove the ‘Follow by Email’ option on all blogs, so followers of this blog will no longer receive email notifications of my new posts. 

At present, I’m not clear about whether Google intends to substitute an alternative. I can’t see any way around this, except to provide links to future posts via my Instagram and Facebook accounts. These can also be accessed under YOU CAN ALSO FIND ME HERE in the right hand column of this blog.

I’d like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the loyal followers of this blog. Your support means a great deal. I do hope you will still drop by from time to time. 

Pictured top: my one-of-a-kind artist book, Cat’s Cradle. An update on the book will follow shortly. 

Cat’s Cradle - Finalist in 2020 Libris Awards

Above and below: Cat’s Cradle, 2019, acrylic on wood and pigmented
drawing ink on paper, 16.5 x 15.5 x 1.5 cm (closed)

In recent news, our artist book, Cat’s Cradle, has been shortlisted for the 2020 Libris Awards: The Australian Artists Book Prize at Artspace Mackay.

Judges for the 2020 Awards are Robert Heather, Director of Advancement, Communications and Events at University of New England and Des Cowley, Principal Librarian, History of the Book and Arts at State Library of Victoria. The exhibition catalogue, including a full list of of finalists, is here:

https://www.artspacemackay.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/251731/2020LibrisAwardsCatalogueofFinalists01-05-20_4-13pm.pdf

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, exhibition dates and the announcement of award winners have yet to be confirmed. Currently Artspace Mackay anticipates announcing the the prize winning entries and confirmation of exhibition dates by late June 2020. Please visit the Artspace Mackay website for updates:

http://www.artspacemackay.com.au/whats_on/libris_awards

Last days of BETWEEN THE SHEETS

Progeny, 2018, one-of-a-kind artist book; pigmented drawing ink,
gouache and hand stitching with cloth binding, 16.5 x 91 cm (open)

If you happen to be in Perth, WA, you have until next Saturday, 21 September, to see BETWEEN THE SHEETS 2019 before it ends its run. In this exhibition, 70 works by 59 artists from 7 countries challenge notions of the traditional book. Makers include printmakers, photographers, architects, wordsmiths, textile artists, painters, sculptors, digital artists, and a glass artist.

Two of my artist books are included in the show, both of them one-of-a-kind: Progeny, 2018 (pictured top) and Firebrand, 2017.

In this extract from the catalogue essay, Paul Uhlmann, Senior Lecturer at Edith Cowan University describes ‘... the endless list of classifications; altered books; the book as unopenable object; livre de peintre (the beautiful painter’s book); the book as performance; the book as skin and body; the book as memory object; the book as archive; the book as concept and many more. Since my initial encounter, artists’ books have grown exponentially and become an international phenomenon; many attempts have been made to define the characteristics of an artist’s book; to tame it, to give it shape but an artist’s book – a book made by an artist – will defy classification, just as all artists strive to develop their own unique voice.’

To view individual works, accompanied by statements from the artists, go HERE.

BETWEEN THE SHEETS: ARTISTS BOOKS EXHIBITION 2019
Gallery Central,
12 Aberdeen Street,
Perth WA
Hours: 10 am - 4.45 pm weekdays
11 am- 4 pm Saturday
The exhibition runs until Saturday 21 September 2019

Tall Poppies in Canberra

Tall Poppies (2013, unique artist book. Pigmented drawing ink
on Khadi paper with cloth binding, 80 x 15 cm, open). 
Collection: National Library of Australia

Pictured top: installation view of Tall Poppies (2013) our vertical concertina book, snapped yesterday at the National Library of Australia along with reflected library visitors. Click on images for a clearer view.

Many thanks to Dr. Carole Wilson for the photos.

Queenscliff Literary Festival 2017

Vertical concertina books, 2013, one-of-a-kind, ink
and acrylic on Khadi paper, cloth bound.
Each book: 20 x 15 cm (open)

The artist's books pictured above are currently on view at Queenscliff Gallery and Workshop in the exhibition, Queenscliffe Literary Festival & Great Authors Print Exchange. The show is part of the 2017 Queenscliffe Literary Festival.

The books relate to the literary classification of 'The Maiden in the Tower'. The primary point of reference for A Tall Tale and Castles in the Hair is the German fairy tale, Rapunzel, famously collected by the brothers Grimm and first published by them in 1812. The story has its basis in earlier tales dating back as far as the 11th century. 

The third book, Bats in the Belfry, draws its primary inspiration from the character Bertha Mason, the madwoman in the attic in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. The same character is the protagonist of the Jean Rhys novel, Wide Sargasso Sea, in which Bertha's real name is revealed to be Antoinette Cosway and much of the story told from her point of view.

The Queenscliffe Literary Festival & Great Authors Print Exchange runs from 3 May - June 12. For full details, visit QG&W's website HERE.

FIREBRAND and GORGON: more progress views

As regular visitors to Moth Woman Press blog will be aware, lately I've been working concurrently on two one-of-a-kind artist books, Firebrand and Gorgon (see centre photo below).

Hand-lettering the title page of the former is now complete and it's ready for the next step, namely the cover art. As with my previous book, Cat's Cradle, the front and back covers will be hand painted and lettered on prepared MDF boards. (The boards can be seen on the top left in the first two photos directly below).

Back in 1993 I was awarded a three-month Australia Council for the Arts Visual Arts Board Residency in Paris. One of the high points was a glorious exhibition of illuminated manuscripts at the Bibliothèque Nationale, the most extensive I've ever seen. I've long been drawn to hand written and painted manuscripts, but as is sometimes the case in my work, the period of gestation has been a slow one. It's only comparatively recently that I've begun to make some versions of my own. 

Click on individual images for a clearer view.

Hand-lettering in progress on Firebrand

Further progress views of Gorgon and Firebrand

First stage of Firebrand completed

FIREBRAND - an artist book in progress

Further to our post of Thursday, 22 December, directly below are further progress views of Firebrand, our latest one-of-a-kind artist book. Click on individual images to enlarge. 

Firebrand, artist book in progress, pencil and pigmented drawing ink
on Khaki paper, 16.5 x 15.5 cm

Artist books in progress

Two more Moth Woman Press books are currently on the drawing board. Pictured directly below in early developmental stages are Gorgon (top) and Firebrand (bottom). 

I'm still battling with the unruly snakes on the head of the Gorgon, but have plowed ahead with Firebrand. Below are three detailed views, followed by the first stage of the inking up process.

In 2012, I made a smaller version of this work for an artist's book exhibition at Hand Held Gallery in Melbourne. (The original book can be seen to the right of the tubes of paint below). I was never entirely happy with the end result, which I felt didn't quite reach its full potential; however, I've used it as working model for the current artist book. It's one of a new, ongoing series of concertina books collectively titled Tail End.

'Tall Poppies' acquired by National Library of Australia

The National Library of Australia has just acquired my artist book, Tall Poppies (pictured below) in addition to numerous Moth Woman Press zines (see previous post). Tall Poppies is one of the Tall Tales series of vertical concertina books, the first of which were exhibited in an eponymous solo show at Hand Held Gallery, Melbourne, in 2013.

Tall Poppies, 15.5 x 16.5 cm (closed)

Tall Poppies (2013, one-of-a-kind artist book, ink and 

acrylic paint, cloth bound, 80 x 15 cm open).

The books were originally accompanied by a suite of miniature paintings. Although finished works in their own right, several of these (including the painting, Tall Poppies) served as working images for the artist books.

Tall Poppies, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 12.5 x 7.5 cm

Below are two views of the Tall Poppies book in early stages of its development. The Ballarat studio hadn’t yet been built; the image directly below was snapped in our sunroom.

Beginnings of Tall Poppies, Ballarat, 2013

Tall Poppies, progress view

The original Tall Tales series was expanded for the group exhibition, Wonder Room at Maroondah Art Gallery, Victoria, also in 2013, which is where Tall Poppies (fourth from right, below) made its debut. 

Whenever I travel to Canberra, a visit to the NLA is always included. When I was last there in late March, I fantasised about one day having some of my own work in the permanent collection. So the acquisition by the National Library of Australia is nothing less than a dream come true.

Tall Tales (2013, one-of-a-kind artist books, pigmented drawing ink 

and acrylic paint, cloth bound, 80 x 15 cm open). 

Installation view, Maroondah Art Gallery, 2013. Click on image to enlarge.