This pocket photobook is part of a larger project that explores the role of repetition in the formation and deconstruction of bias. Repetition in this context will be examined from different angles: A frequently taken route, the spreading of news, beliefs and opinions, an obsessive thought.
Points of departure: Repetition and nominalism. Repetition and mechanization. Repetition as variation. Repetition as progress. The narrative value of repetition and its role in performativity.
The power and the many faces of repetition in connection to the formation of opinion and bias will be explored through different media. This book is the first manifestation, the first topic addressed: Seeking and finding answers through repetition, and the attraction of the familiarity repetition brings.
The first edition of this book is printed in limited numbered and signed copies. Each copy is unique and fully handmade.
The pictures below show the first one of these copies: 48 pages, grayscale, 11x12 (cm), archival paper 100gr (Conqueror, oyster) on archival paper 240gr, (Dali, chamois), chain stitch:
The flip book video shows a color version of the book (physical copy in the making).
Repetition
Locked in a series of movements
in a frame made of gestures
circling words
and behavioral loops
that I had to repeat
(until I broke through)
I learned that progress is a spiral
and that there is no such thing
as repetition.
Although I memorize the steps
I follow the sequence
I copy and paste
the half-empty days
and their dummies for reference:
A sunset, a beach, a building.
The pattern is similar but
there is no identical point in time
and each repetition brings me closer
to a still escaping answer.
But
even after I quench my question
I keep going back
to the comfort of the familiar
because after all
I am just a creature of habit.
You can read more about the poetry issues project here.
Creation is a process of trial and error. Since my major interest lies in the different ways of presenting and experiencing text, for part 2 of poetry issues #26 I created a small book from scratch: My own handmade paper, colored and illustrated with a mixed media technique, integrating collage elements, handwritten text and lots of color, that I always love. The book itself is a unique, collectible item. However, below you can find a digital version of it. All I can say about the poem, which is also available here in simple text form, is that it appears as a common love piece, but maybe a second reading will reveal the underlying theme of gender identity. In any case, I prefer to leave the interpretation open to the reader.
For "Our Lost Babies" I included an audio reading of the piece. Here I went a step further. This time I have a song for you:
A flip book version of the book:
Distance
The howling of the wind
triumphant in the space between us.
I just want to sleep
imagine the death of the wind
silence under the yellow sun
children's laughter roaring
a happy dog's bark.
That's how you tolerate loneliness
how sadness becomes sweet.
In a dream you held my hand
and led me through a dancing crowd.
In that dream you were my man.
An impression of the physical book:
Also, here's a link to the .pdf.
You can read more about the poetry issues project here.