Unbound, debossed and die-cut paper, Cast charcoal, Custom clam shell box
This is a signed and numbered artist book edition, handprinted by Kenturah Davis on a Vandercook letterpress, each with a unique charcoal rubbing by the artist.
Published 2021.
13.5 × 10.25 × 3 in.
Edition of 25
This work is an effort to consider how language produces conditions of contingency that we must move through, blurring the personal and the political. The book consists of the transcript of the Senate debates leading to the passing of the 13th Amendment. Unlike the actual amendment, which is just a few short lines, the debates overflow with numerous presuppositions that are antithetical to a concept of equality. The resulting law is burdened with this language in ways that drift in and out of view. The body of text is impressed into the paper, producing a low relief . The legibility of the text is contingent on the lighting conditions in which it is viewed. A compartment within the inner cavity of the paper holds a piece of cast charcoal. The viewer is invited to rub their hands across the charcoal and apply it to the text. The more opaque the application of charcoal, the more the text is illuminated and rendered more legibly.
Unbound, debossed and die-cut paper, Cast charcoal, Custom clam shell box
This is a signed and numbered artist book edition, handprinted by Kenturah Davis on a Vandercook letterpress, each with a unique charcoal rubbing by the artist.
Published 2021.
13.5 × 10.25 × 3 in.
Edition of 25
This work is an effort to consider how language produces conditions of contingency that we must move through, blurring the personal and the political. The book consists of the transcript of the Senate debates leading to the passing of the 13th Amendment. Unlike the actual amendment, which is just a few short lines, the debates overflow with numerous presuppositions that are antithetical to a concept of equality. The resulting law is burdened with this language in ways that drift in and out of view. The body of text is impressed into the paper, producing a low relief . The legibility of the text is contingent on the lighting conditions in which it is viewed. A compartment within the inner cavity of the paper holds a piece of cast charcoal. The viewer is invited to rub their hands across the charcoal and apply it to the text. The more opaque the application of charcoal, the more the text is illuminated and rendered more legibly.
Image 1 of 5
Image 2 of 5
Image 3 of 5
Image 4 of 5
Image 5 of 5