| Title | Trace, Deluge |
| Artist / Creator | Jill Kambs |
| Place of Publication | Erie, PA |
| Publication Date | 2013 |
| Process / Technique | Letterpress printed, photopolymer, linocut and hand-set metal type |
| Number of Images | 25 |
| Structure / Binding | Japanese multi-section binding enclosed in a Japanese portfolio |
| Paper Stock | Kozo and Kaji |
| Number of Pages | 54 |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 6.5 x 7 x 0.5 inches |
| Edition Size | Edition of 25 |
| Signed & Numbered | Yes |
This book focuses on the relationship between humans and the natural world by examining the tension between organic life cycles and human cultivation and constraint of the environment. Both text and image trace environmental movement, contrasting nature’s regenerative qualities with humanity’s capacity for destruction. Alternating poetic series are mirrored in alternating imagery. Trace images reference shadow tracings drawn from the autumnal equinox through the winter solstice of a specimen located at 41.40ºN, 91.31ºW. Printed on separate layers of translucent paper, these images document the change in light as well as physical form of the subject over the season. Deluge images reference the NOAA’s record of Mean Sea Level Rise from 1870 to Present Day. Imitating this staggering rise, the wave-like linocuts increase in size throughout the book. Text traces a pattern of human ruin, which gives way to natural restoration, while imagery traces water and light as instruments of nature’s cleansing.
Artist Bio
Jill Kambs lives and works in Erie, Pennsylvania. She recently completed MFA degrees in Book Arts and Photography at the University of Iowa where she was a Wilhelm and Jane Bodine Fellow. Kambs holds a BA from Luther College where she studied studio art, English, and education. Her photographic work has been published in The Iowa Review and Water Stone Review. Kambs' artist's books can be seen in a growing number of libraries, including the Special Collections of the University of Florida Libraries and the Hennepin County Libraries.