Turn the Page 2018 - The Waves

'The waves were steeped deep-blue save for a diamond- pointed light on their backs which rippled...The waves fell; withdrew and fell again, like the thud of a great beast stamping."
Virginia Woolf
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Preparations for this years Turn the Page Artist Book Fair are well under way. This years work centres around waves. Returning to the idea of sculpting covers which I had started to do with the Core Sample series, I have been experimenting with the form of waves.

The idea of working with Waves resonates on several levels. They are about movement. They can be forceful as well as gentle. They give but also take back. In particular I have been thinking about the situation regarding the huge amounts of plastic being carried around the world by the waves. Plastic is one of the most pressing issues of our time. It is not just the plastic that we see, but more worrying, the news that the plastic does not actually degrade. These micro plastics are present in the food chain. This has serious consequences for the smallest organisms through to the largest predators - including us.

The content for the wave books explores this issue. I am curious. about the idea of what we see and what we don't see.  What might be hidden in plain sight?  Sara Wheelers comment 'all is not well in the cold and salty deep" seems to sum up the situation very succinctly!

First stages experimenting with possible shapes

 and then making watery marks

Building layers and thinking about content.

 The wave rises sweeping before it the pages which then spread out. Appearing like seaweed, on closer inspection they are not what they first appear to be.  Old sheets of plastic from the studio have been used to symbolise the changes we see in the oceans. Various quotes, from poets and authors have been incorporated  giving the ocean a voice.

"No Water, No Life,
No Blue, No Green"
Sylvia Earle.