Book Marks

Book Marks is a collaboration with the Conservation Department of the Bodelain Libraries, Oxford. A pile of rusting paperclips was the catalyst for this creative response, sparking conversation between the conservators and the artist. Inspired by marks left accidentally in books and the items we place inside to locate a page, this collection of bookmark sized objects is the result.

Clips marking and manipulating paper, inadvertently sculpting and re-forming the shape of a book; pins piercing a page; stains seeping from accidental spillages; objects left over time, leaving a ghostly print of their position; corners turned, and edges scuffed; a treasured leaf, flower or feather pressed to mark a moment, leaving its own memorial on the page. These happenings have been exploring visually and materially, building up a small library of interactions with paper. Book Marks is on show in the Weston Library until 15th December 2024.

Bookmarks: Paper yarn, printmaking paper, paperclips, re-purposed book pages, feather, leaves.

Weave, cyanotype, collagraph, paper lithography, piercing, staining, stitching, botanical contact print, rust print.