BUILDING BLOCKS BOOK XVII by Sumi Perera - SOLD

BUILDING BLOCKS BOOK, THE NEGATIVE SPACE OF ARCHITECTURE, THE HOUSE THAT JACK NEVER BUILT & other variations on the theme A series of prints and artist books that explore issues that surround the space in architecture. The sequence of etched, embossed, stitched and manually controlled laser cut pages, printed with burnt dust may be re-arranged by the reader to build up multiple narratives. The workings for this book evolved in a similar manner to the preparatory processes of building a house. Loose sketches, research studies, observational notes, maquettes, and blueprints are all included in the final product. Process is as important as the finished product-and contain selected elements of each preceding book to form the next in the series in order to create variations on the theme. Most of the books have pages that can be removed and re-inserted to explore different trajectories. Multiple folds/pleats within the page pay tribute to Gilles Deleuze’s and Gottfried Leibniz’s ideas on the fold. Walter Benjamin’s thoughts of ‘Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ are also explored in the process and evolution of each variation of books in this series. Paper is manipulated (folded, stitched, embossed and printed using digital and traditional intaglio and relief methods) which in turn are used as collagraphs, or as soft ground templates. These prints are photographed, incised, used as positives for photo etching, and form the basis for a series of books ranging from cheap democratic multiple flip books to large installations of artist books.