Roe Ethridge C-Print available form ICA London

Eronja for Dazed and Confused, March 2012 by Roe Ethridge is a new limited edition print available from the Institute for Contemporary Art, London. An edition of 25, signed and numbered by the artist, this C-print is £750 for ICA members (membership is only £10) or £1000 for non-members.

More information can be found on the ICA website here.

Wind in the Willows altered book sculpture

Wind in the Willows is my latest book sculpture, an interpretation of the stories by Kenneth Grahame.

It is another private commission, the brief was to include toad driving a Morgan car, otherwise I could do what I wanted.

 The river is Palladium leaf and the sun is gold leaf.

 Took about ten attempts to get the car right, quite pleased with the end result though.

Justin Rowe - Pushing the Envelope 2012

Pushing the Envelope is a Charity auction, in association with the National Literacy Trust. Each year celebrities are asked to make a design on an envelope, this is then auctioned on eBay.

 I was asked to contribute this year, this is my offering and bidding is now live!

Entering its seventh year in 2012, the Pitney Bowes Pushing the Envelope campaign is looking to build on the success of previous years and gain support from a broad range of personalities - we've been supported by Fearne Cotton, Kate Winslet, Stephen Fry and Damien Hirst in the past. As in previous years, this is a unique chance for the public to own an original design from favourite celebrities or artists. This year our theme is 'Inspiration' and the designs by our famous supporters will reflect this. The finished artworks will be auctioned in March 2012 and all funds raised from the auction will be donated to the National Literacy Trust.

Yayoi Kusama's Alice in Wonderland

'Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with artwork by Yayoi Kusama' to give it it's full title is a new publication from Penguin Classics. It features the full classic text, but with new characteristically idiosyncratic illustrations from Kusama.

It is a highly coloured book and some interesting typographic touches. It is nicer to look at than read - I have always found the text very difficult to get through, particularly hard to read aloud to children!

 It is currently available at a good price here. There is also a new exhibition of Kusama's work just opening at the Tate Modern, info here.

Since childhood, Japanese artist Kusama has been afflicted with a condition that makes her see spots, which means she sees the world in a surreal, almost hallucinogenic way that sits very well with the Wonderland of Alice.

She is fascinated by childhood and the way adults have the ability, at their most creative, to see things the way children do, a central concern of the Alice books, by Lewis Carroll.

The Kraken altered book sculpture

 The Kraken is my latest book sculpture, it was specially commissioned, the brief was 'a Kraken taking down a Galleon.'

 The Kraken if you didn't know if a mythical sea creature like a giant squid or octopus, the kind of thing you would find in Jules Verne.

 Each of the tentacles is overprinted with Kraken Kraken Kraken to make them darker and angrier looking.

 The pages of the book made into a roiling sea.

There are now cards and prints available of this sculpture in the shop.

 One poor sailor plucked from the decks...

Twenty/12 photography project Kickstarter appeal

Interesting looking photobook project brought to my attention by one of the contributors John Edmonds. Looks like they already reached their funding target, but you can still get some nice looking goodies by donating. Have a look at what's on offer here.

Empty Stretch is a photography collective interested in exposing & publishing emerging photographers. Over the past year we have self- produced short run zines, including; Empty Stretch: Home, Mediations 1-4, as well as Aaron Canipe's Eden & My Golden Girl of Summertime, Jordan Swartz's Pickpocket Blues series & Nathaneil Grann's Aspects of Patriotism. TWENTY/12 will be our first venture into the book publishing world. 

Twelve photographers located in different parts of the world all photographed on New Years day. It is a day of new beginnings, fresh starts and for some a clean break. By having multiple people photograph under the construct of a single day; traditions, reflections, resolutions, commonalities and differences are brought forth. The New Years day becomes more then just a single day but rather a precursor of things to come. TWENTY/12 is the document of these twelve photographers findings and new beginnings.

The photographers include:

Aaron Canipe
Caroline Carpenter
John Edmonds
Michael Evnen
Nathaniel Grann
Mark Harley
Veronica Melendez
Jordan Swartz
Justine Tobiasz
Liora Valero
Tucker Walsh
Sara Winston

Sam Taylor-Wood print available at 20x200

Jonathan is a new limited edition print by Sam Taylor Wood. It is available at several sizes and prices, the edition of 100 at 10"x8" looks pretty good value at $60 this size is nearly sold out, so move fast! You can buy it here.

I'm slightly put off by 20x200 only coming with a signed certificate of authenticity rather than the print itself being signed and numbered, this seems fine for the small prints, but a 20"x16" in an edition of 50 for $600? or the 40"x30" in an edition of 10 for $3000? These don't seem very good value compared to her editions from White Cube and Counter...

Raymond Meeks - Oxbow

 Oxbow against the Sky - broadside number 1 by Raymond Meeks was delivered today and a really lovely thing it is too! The packaging itself if worth the purchase price, hand made with bamboo dowel, a real treat to open.

 Personal touches throughout, this is a real one-off, even though it is from an edition of 25, each differs as a result of being made by hand.

 From Raymond's website - Each broadside brings together an original set of darkroom prints i’ve been making; One as a silver gelatin print and the other, a silver halide transparency mounted to book paper.  
Abbey is deconstructing a book of french literature and physically removing text prior to mounting the transparency.  every page retains it’s history while we take certain liberties in responding individually.   As such, each broadside is unique. The cover print is a pigment inkjet on transparency, tipped in.

 More information about this and Raymond's other amazing artist books can be found on his website.

 The detailing is something special, I have tried to capture in the image below how the source book has been altered, with text literally scraped away by hand, very tactile.

Juergen Teller - Stephanie on Puppy Connecticut (2002) print available at Counter

Juergen Teller - Stephanie on Puppy Connecticut (2002)

Stephanie Seymour Reclining on Jeff Koons 'Puppy' 2002 
c-print, signed, dated and numbered, edition of 200
20 x 24in. (50.8 x 61cm.) 

Thanks to Colin Chea for giving me the heads up that this print has become available again at Counter Editions. It has been sold out for the last few years, but is now back in stock priced at £800.

The prints have been selling for £2000-£3000 at auction, so this price looks a real bargain.

Get yours here before they disappear again!

Bookshop Christmas window display - Twelve Days of Christmas

The new display for the Cambridge University Press bookshop Christmas window was installed last night. It features twelve of my book sculptures, one for each of the days in the song.

 The window will be on display until January 6th, all of the sculptures are being offered as prizes in a prize draw, proceeds going to Romsey Mill, a local Charity. Tickets are £1 each, available in person from the Bookshop.

More pictures of the individual sculptures on my website daysfalllikeleaves.