FIREBRAND acquired by the State Library of Queensland

This just in from our sister blog, Moth Woman Press:

Firebrand, 2017, my one-of-a-kind concertina book, has just been acquired for the permanent collection of the State Library of Queensland, together with selected MWP zines. For further information, visit Moth Woman Press HERE.

Pictured above: 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.

Title page for an artist book

 

Process views of the lino block for the title page of Decorated Women, a small artist book that has been in development since 2023. For additional views and information, visit our sister blog, Moth Woman Press HERE. 

World of the Book, 2023-24

Pictured above and below are selected highlights from a recent mad dash to revisit the latest iteration of World of the Book in the dome of the State Library of Victoria one last time before the exhibition closed.

The section focusing on silhouettes included four page views from my unbound artist book, Leaves of Absence, 2017, collection: State Library of Victoria. (Images 1-2). Coincidentally, the book is also on display just a few tram stops away at Melbourne Athenaeum Library. It has been a thrill to see my work placed in this particular context, alongside works by some of the greats of silhouette art, among them, Arthur Rackham and contemporary artist, Kyoko Imazu. 

Of greatest personal significance were the sections devoted to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (I was particularly taken with Lynd Ward’s illustration in the 1934 edition, pictured above) and Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There, with illustrations by John Tenniel. Both authors have had considerable impact on my own work. 

The following works are by Dianne Longley (Threads Drawn from the Past, Towards a Digital Future, 2005) and Angela Cavalieri, whose large-scale linocut, Luce, 2005, was inspired by a 2003 residency undertaken at the British School in Rome. The work, which references Donato Bramante’s Tempietto of San Pietro in Rome, is equally at home in the dome gallery overlooking the library’s magnificent Reading Room (final view). 

The exhibition opened on 1 April, 2023 and closed on Sunday, 12 May, 2024.

A peep inside… Part 6: Tattooed Faces

My tour of the artist books gathered on the studio table in my recent blog post concludes with Tattooed Faces, 1996, the first artist book I ever made. Tattooed Faces evolved during the course of my MA research, beginning with Tattooed Face Number 1, which is pictured below, followed by further selected page views.

In many ways, it feels as if I’ve now come full circle, as evidenced by my current works, the Decorated Women. (See HERE, HERE and HERE). Still very much in progress, the works are earmarked for a solo exhibition at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery in late 2024. 

Tattooed Faces and the Moth Woman Press publications I’ve been documenting on this blog of late were recently delivered to Stephen McLaughlan Gallery for the exhibition Artist Books & Folios. I’m leaving for 5 weeks in the UK on September 14, so although I’m excited for the exhibition, I won’t actually get to see it. But I do hope you’ll have a chance to drop by before it ends its run on October 7. Your invitation is below.

A peep inside… Part 5: Homo-insecta Portfolio

An inside view of another book on my studio table, shortly before it was packaged up and delivered to Stephen McLaughlan Gallery in good time for the opening of Artist Books & Folios on September 20.

Pictured above: Homo-insecta Portfolio, 2013, unbound artist book with selected page views. A4-sized folio with hand-coloured linocuts and inkjet-printed text. 

The linocuts recall the kind of fantastical specimens that might be found in a Cabinet of Curiosities (think Feejee mermaid). I also drew inspiration from the works of one of my favourite artists, the naturalist, entomologist and scientific illustrator, Maria Sibylla Merian. 

Homo-insecta Portfolio was originally created for the group exhibition Wonder Room, exhibited at Maroondah Art Gallery in 2013. 

A peep inside… Part 4: FIREBRAND

Page views of the artist books on my work table in Blog Post Tuesday August 22 continue with Firebrand, 2017, a unique concertina book, hand-lettered and drawn in India ink and pigmented drawing inks. Firebrand has a grey cloth cover with debossed text. 

A firebrand (a Middle English word I’ve always rather liked) is an agitator or trouble maker. But then there’s nothing like a few knots and tangles in the hair to awaken the sleeping dragon within.

Firebrand was the first of a planned series entitled Bad Hair Days, although this is the only one completed thus far. A second book, Gorgon, based on the Greek myth of Medusa, a mortal female cursed with a head of writhing, venomous snakes, had been well under way, but was mislaid during our move. I haven’t entirely given up hope that it will resurface one day. Otherwise, I haven’t ruled out the idea of starting again from scratch. 

In the meantime, Firebrand is part of the upcoming exhibition ARTIST BOOKS & FOLIOS at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery and is now at the gallery awaiting installation.

ARTIST BOOKS & FOLIOS

Deborah Klein, Elizabeth Banfield and Theo Strasser
South Gallery, Stephen McLaughlan Gallery
Running from September 20 - October 7

A peep inside… Part 3: WOMEN WITH WINGS

Another peep inside one of the books on the studio table in my recent blog post, A tabletop of artist books.

Pictured above and below: Women with Wings, 2010, concertina book with linocuts and rubber stamps, a rare volume freshly out of mothballs in readiness for the forthcoming exhibition ARTIST BOOKS & FOLIOS at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery.

Photography: Tim Gresham.

To learn the secret of the mysterious masked Moth Women, grab yourself one of the last remaining copies of the zine, The Story of the Moth Masks, pictured below.

ARTIST BOOKS & FOLIOS

Deborah Klein, Elizabeth Banfield and Theo Strasser

South Gallery, Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne.

The exhibition runs from September 20 - October 7 2023.

A peep inside… Part 2: LEAVES OF ABSENCE

A peep inside another of the books on the studio table in my blog post of Tuesday August 22, A tabletop of artist books.

The unbound artist book LEAVES OF ABSENCE, 2017, continues my exploration of women’s hidden histories, of which far too many remain tantalisingly buried. Its point of departure is the Australian Gold Rushes, a historic period from which Chinese women were all but absent. In 1861, Chinese immigrants made up 3.3 per cent of the population. Of these, 38,337 were men, compared to only eleven women. Despite considerable delving on my part, the lives of the women who remained in China remain a mystery. 

The following is an edited version of my speech at the launch of LEAVES OF ABSENCE at Melbourne Atheneum Library in November 2017. 

… In Newstead alone, there were over 3000 Chinese miners. The Eucalyptus leaves in LEAVES OF ABSENCE were sourced there because of their significance to the project but also because of their singular shapes - in part the result of interventions by my 'insect collaborators', the Eucalyptus tip bugs. So invaluable was their contribution, they rate a special mention on the book’s colophon page.

In my work, silhouettes are principally metaphors for marginalization or invisibility... 

…The enchanting fairy tale films of German born silhouette animation pioneer Lotte Reiniger (1889-1981) are a key influence on all my work with silhouettes. Influences entirely specific to this project include early photography and silent film. Contrary to popular belief, not all of the first moving images were in black and white. In many cases, a series of coloured filters were applied, usually to indicate mood, while other directors, including one of the masters of early film, Georges Melies, employed artists, usually teams of women, to painstakingly hand colour his films frame by frame.

... My initial research included a study of historical Chinese women’s hairstyles. Reduced to shadow forms, however, the women could equally be from any place or time, including the present.

To read the full speech, my response to Marguerite Brown’s marvellous opening address, visit Moth Woman Press HERE.

Images 1-7 above: LEAVES OF ABSENCE with selected page views.

Image 8 below: Installation view at Melbourne Atheneum Library in 2017, followed by Image 9: Hand-painted eucalyptus leaves, the basis for the illustrations in the book. 

LEAVES OF ABSENCE is part of the three-person show ARTIST BOOKS & FOLIOS at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, opening on September 20. Full details are below.