A book of whispers
I am parched with thirst and I perish. But give me to drink . from the everflowing spring on the right, by the cypress.“Who are you?Where are you from?” . I am the daughter of Earth and starry Heaven.
summary
a book of whispers is an artist book in two volumes. The first volume references sacred texts from six gold lamellae belonging to women initiates to Orphism, which give specific instructions for the soul to follow on its perilous journey to the Afterlife. Perceived as “whispers,” fleeting and hovering on the cusp of perception and consciousness, these texts are given visual form as watermarks within the fibers of flax folios. In a companion book, an essay gives the personal narrative and the historical context for these mysterious objects. To make the voices of these women “heard,” the sacred texts are printed in pale ink as flowing ribbons in modern English and Greek.
specifications
Watermarked text on bleached flax paper, letterpress printing from polymer plates, handmade flax papers for folios and covers, limp binding in vellum and custom flax paper
Edition Size: 19 + 3 artist proofs
Volume One: 28 leaves; 13 folios | Volume Two: 18 leaves; 9 folios
Handmade flax papers by Gangolf Ulbricht, Berlin
Dimensions: 16.5 cm x 44.5 cm x 1 cm
Original limp binding and design by Lisa Van Pelt
Custom Plexiglass enclosure with sandblasted exterior
Date: spring, 2019
the process
The sacred writings of the gold lamellae have a metaphysical character. How can I give visual form to whispers? Whispers are fleeting, hovering on the cusp of perception, of consciousness. I oscillated. White ink on white paper made of flax? Blind stamping, embossing, without ink? Finally, I decided on the rare technique of watermarks. A watermark allows the sacred text to remain hidden, in a latent state within the fibers of the paper; it comes to life for a moment, as the reader lifts the folio and light illuminates it.
