Building Books 2 – Twiggs Gallery, 2024
Helios & Selene
Hinged wood and mixed media
5 h x 3 w x 2” d – closed
5 h x 8 w x 4” d – open
one-of-a-kind
$2000
Helios & Selene is the first in a series of three artist’s books (assemblages in diptych form) that incorporates frame looms containing fiber “illustrations” within a codex-like container. Beads and reflective objects animate this palm-sized work of art.
Building Books 1 – University of Southern Maine, 2023
Romeo and Juliet
Hinged wood and mixed media
5 h x 3 w x 2” d – closed
5 h x 8 w x 4” d – open
one-of-a-kind
$2000
The three artist books in this series are equal in size. Each is constructed as a diptych assemblage, hinged on the long side and opened as a codex. The “illustrations” are abstract compositions of fibers and found objects. Colorful alcohol inks fill the background of each page. Romeo and Juliet includes their names written in Morse Code with tube-shaped and round beads.
Hidden within the darkness of closed books, dazzling images of light and color can often be found. The joy of revealing hidden beauty was the objective behind a series of artist’s books that captured some of the glory of glittering gold and gemstones found on medieval manuscripts. Such rich embellishment required a fitting narrative, which the drama of classical literature provided. The subjects of the three books in this series are Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Roman Gods, Helios and Selene, and a tribute to The Muses, who inspire the arts. These books are diptychs which contain assemblages of fiber art such as stretched and wrapped metallic thread on miniature looms as well as reflective elements such as mirrors and beads. The visual narratives were constructed on multiple layers, none of which was fully completed until each book was assembled in its last step. Finding a way to tell the story with shape, color and composition alone was both a challenge and a delight. But whether or not the viewer is aware of the literary inspiration, the glittering effect of these books provides an animated experience of lustrous metallic fibers and subtle flashes of light.
Dennis Dahill – Dorchester, MA
