Sphere: artist’s book

Here are three artist’s books which I bound for visual artist James Gilna as part of his exhibition ‘Forms of Complicity’. The exhibition consisted of a mixture of paintings on paper and large linen canvasses accompanied by artist’s books.

I was provided with the text block (pages of the book) and asked to bind them using an uncomplicated style which would complement, without distracting from the content inside.

Each page of the book has a painting which was painted directly onto the surface of the page. The paintings were of different coloured spheres on darker backgrounds – similar to the larger paintings hung on the wall. As the books progressed, the shades of the spheres changed from red to orange to yellow.

I  chose a simple exposed long stitch to bind these artist’s books, using a different coloured thread which was visible along the spine. The threads met in the centre of the spine forming a circle. The whole book was covered in a simple grey bookcloth which set off the coloured thread beautifully.

The artist wanted an embossed circular pattern on the front cover. This consisted of a mottled circular shape which reflected the paintings inside. The finished result is a minimalist, heavy-weight binding which showcases his work. These handmade artist’s books measure 33 x 40 x 4 cms.