| Title | States I Have... |
| Artist / Creator | Woody Leslie |
| Press Name | Large Home Tiny Idea |
| Artist's Nationality | United States |
| Place of Publication | Chicago, Illinois |
| Publication Date | 2016 |
| Process / Technique | Inkjet prints |
| Structure / Binding | Unbound cards in clamshell box |
| Medium / Materials | Bookcloth, book board |
| Paper Stock | Matte photo paper |
| Number of Pages | 50 pages |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 4 x 6 x 1 inches closed. |
| Edition Size | Edition of 2 |
| Box / Wrapper | Clamshell Box |
| Signed & Numbered | Signed and numbered edition |
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States I Have... is an autobiographical work that plays with fact-based story telling, and the concept of the implicitly missing story. Each of 50 maps reveals a specific set of geographic facts about me, but leaves out all the information about the how, why, and when. A single map reveals very little, but by comparing multiple maps, the reader perhaps can begin to piece together a picture of who I am. The unbound nature of the book facilitates this type of comparison through the ability to rearrange pages. The story itself is missing, only the facts remain, leaving the reader to construct their own narrative. At the same time, the reader can't help but contemplate his or her own history of geographic "haves." What states have you slept in? Kissed in? Cried in? These often inconsequential facts accompany all of us on our travels no matter where we go. Though standing in one spot, the reader's mind begins to wander all over the country, traversing their own personal geography and history.
Artist Bio
Woody Leslie is an artist, book maker, and performer who makes large homes for tiny ideas. Born and raised in northern Vermont, he has lived and worked in many locations nationwide and abroad, and currently lives in Chicago, IL. Through books, writing, and performance, Woody takes small thoughts about language, memories, and insignificant personal ritual, and reframes them as official histories, grand theories, and significant objects. By co-opting established forms (such as textbooks, maps, recipes, charts and graphs, dictionaries, advertisements, fictitious commercial products, etc.) he invents authority for concepts that have no business being official. Subtle absurdity dismisses any intention of deception, but rather invites the viewer to question both form and content as fiction. With a background in music & performance, Woody incorporates books into his performances, and make performances out of his books, through fictional lectures, interactive and performable books, installations, and take-home book objects.