A FRAGILE WALK

[Sproughton, Ipswich, England, 1990]. No. TWO OF FIVE COPIES HANDMADE AND EACH DISTINCTIVELY BOUND BY THE ARTIST. 298 x 210 mm. (11 1/2 x 8 1/8"). [24] leaves.
Rustic thick wooden boards, upper cover with abstract geometrical design formed from pieces of copper or lead cut into various shapes and attached to the boards with metal brads, staples, or nails, green cloth spine with two leather yokes, four jute twine ties. Illustrated throughout with hand-printed color images, sometimes accented with attached objects of wood or metal. On handmade paper in shades of gray and green. ◆In mint condition.

In a memorable binding with both visual and tactile appeal, this eccentric work by a leading contemporary book artist incorporates a variety of natural materials to explore and celebrate all things handmade. The components here include wood, metal cuttings and staples, jute twine, and thick, textured paper, while the overall design is consciously rugged, favoring raw edges and irregular shapes over anything polished or manicured. The contents are equally bold, featuring rustic prints that are often brightly colored and coupled with brief strings of words--never more than five to a page--in a heavy typeface. Throughout the book we encounter some unexpected items in the form of wood, twine, metal cut-outs, and the like, that emphasize the materiality of the object, always reminding us of how and of what it was made. Les Bicknell (b. 1963), a Senior Lecturer in Textile Design at the Norwich University of the Arts and a prominent book artist in the UK, says of his work in general and of this item in particular: "The book [is] a symbol of power and knowledge, a tool which communicates directly; it is a form that is understood in these terms. Repositioning its context and redirecting its purpose challenges these very notions." Bicknell's work has been collected by the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Bodleian, MOMA, the Yale Center for British Art, the Rijksmuseum, and other important libraries and museums..