| Title | The Great Library |
| Artist / Creator | Amanda Watson-Will |
| Artist's Nationality | Australia |
| Place of Publication | Teneriffe, Queensland, Austrialia |
| Publication Date | 2011 |
| Process / Technique | Exterior: pigment print, Interior: pigment print of original drypoint |
| Structure / Binding | Story box |
| Paper Stock | Exterior: Egyptian papyrus; Interior: Canson Infinity BFK Rives 310gsm |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 3.5 x 3.5 x 3.5 inches closed. |
| Edition Size | Edition of 10 |
| Box / Wrapper | Commercial box with acid free paper insert |
| Signed & Numbered | Signed and numbered edition |
In this book I have created an imagining of one of an iconic buildings from history, the Great Library of Alexandria. The inspiration for the book is a section of text from Jeanette Winterson's Art & Lies, in which she envisages the capacious interior of the long-destroyed library in its full glory. I have used a story box structure to create a more literal representation of the library as a form or construction. As with a building, the viewer first encounters the book object's exterior, with text quoted from Winterson. The text hints at the contents of the interior, but it is only when opened that the book reveals the expansive possibilities of the Great Library. We glimpse the secrets behind the facade of grandeur. As with well-designed architecture, a full engagement with all the book offers is a kinetic, intellectual and emotional experience.
Artist Bio
Amanda is an Australian artist specialising in artists books. She studied ceramics in Brisbane, Queensland, winning the Craft Queensland Prize on graduation. In 2008 Amanda completed a Masters of Fine Art through RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. She explored the idea of change as a central theme in life and expanded the range of media she employs to include artists' books, installations, photographs and prints. In 2009 Amanda joined the artists' collective and blog Book*Art*Object as a founding member. She has participated in juried exhibitions around Australia, as well as in the US, England and France. Her work is held in private and public collections including Bibliotheca Librorum apud Artificem, the State Library of Queensland, the University of Kent, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Portsmouth.