Title | The Cycle of Censorship |
Artist / Creator | Dina Scheel |
Artist's Nationality | American |
Place of Publication | Los Altos, CA |
Publication Date | 2012 |
Subject | Censorship, Al Mutanabbi |
Structure / Binding | Modified "Fireworks" origami form |
Medium / Materials | Cotton linen fabric display sheet |
Paper Stock | Tyvek, found papers |
Number of Pages | 12 sections. Each section containing bound booklets with burnt pages |
Dimensions (WxHxD) | 7.5 x 3 x 7.5 inches |
Edition Size | Edition of 25 |
Box / Wrapper | Presented in a lidded chipboard box with colophon |
Signed & Numbered | Yes |
This is a moveable book. To tell its story, it rotates through the middle in a flexagon-like infinite loop movement. The cycle begins with the aftermath of an act of censorship, such as the bombing of Al-Mutanabbi Street on March 5, 2007. The black represents censorship and oppression of ideas, which the censorship is attempting to control. However, ideas cannot be contained. As the book moves, gold (symbolizing ideas) begins to emerge amidst the darkness. It then radiates outward with gold lines as it spreads. Finally, the ideas are accepted and adopted into the culture as shown by the gold flecks. The original ideas then breed new ideas, which in turn raise hackles and cause some to want to suppress or censor them. Thus the black begins to return until we are back to the start with an act of censorship and the cycle begins anew. Book structure is based on Yami Yamauchi's origami form called "Fireworks."
Artist Bio
A lifelong maker of things, Dina Scheel became a book artist after stumbling upon a local book arts exhibit. "It felt like I had come home; I knew instantly that this was my art." She is drawn to unique structures and the ability of book art to tell narratives and invoke discussion on important topics. She is also an avid collector of book art as well. Her work has been published in 500 Handmade Books, Volume 2, Lark Books, 2013, and exhibited at the John Rylands Library, Manchester, England, and Columbia University, New York City. In 2012, she was co-juror of Infinite Possibilities: Math, Science, Book Arts at 23 Sandy Gallery. She resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and learned Book Arts at Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, CA.