longing : ΑΛΓΟΣ ΝΟΣΤΟΥ
…for it was once all feathered... in this process the whole soul throbs and palpitates …suffers when the growth of the feathers begins˙ [Plato, Phaedrus, 251c]
summary
Longing an artist book closer to a sculpture, has white porcelain covers, fragile folios and sparse text: a fragment of a poem, a haunting phrase by the philosopher Plotinus, a fragment from Plato’s dialogue of Phaedrus on the evolution of the soul. The text is printed using a variant of the Japanese maki-e technique for gilding on paper with precious metals (palladium).
On a conceptual level Longing represents a movement, from the underworld, the realm of shadows, of Hades and Persephone, to the upper world of earth and light. With metaphysical underpinnings, Longing references the Platonic journey of the soul to higher realms through the gradual painful growing of wings. On a symbolic level, it can be interpreted as referring to a person’s evolution towards a higher moral level, a return to a nonphysical birthplace.
specifications
Limoges porcelain covers, Coptic binding, folios of handmade Abaca, text screen printed, gilded with palladium pigment, clamshell enclosure with drummed vellum covers and interior linings, silk ribbons.
Edition Size: 3+1 artist proof
Dimensions: 34.5 cm x 24.5 cm x 3 cm
Longing has 27 signatures, 108 folios, 216 leaves
Porcelain covers by Margarita Ecclessiarchou, Hellas
Abaca paper by Gangolf Ulbricht, Berlin, Germany
Clamshell design and Coptic binding by Lisa Van Pelt, California
Screen printing of text by Thomas Wojak, California
Date: spring, 2022
the process
Longing has translucent covers of white Limoges porcelain. The Coptic binding requires that the covers have holes for sewing perfectly aligned. That was a bit of a challenge as porcelain shrinks during firing at different rates subject to many variables. Pairs of covers had to be prepared at the same time, dried for extended periods of time, and fired under identical conditions. Another challenge was adapting the Japanese maki-e process of gilding to paper. Maki-e involves using a fine brush to paint letters or a design with lacquer on the surface of a vessel, and then sprinkling gold powder on the surface before it dries. For Longing, the text, was screen-printed with transparent ink on the Abaca paper and then gilded with palladium pigment and a soft brush. The intent was for a more subtle effect, compared to gilding with gold leaf.
