paperiaarre

February was challenging, even more so than the months that came before. I have been careful and I have been patient, but I have also been quite stressed and mostly very lonely. I’m aware of my many privileges, yet they bring little comfort after such a long time of not breathing freely. I try to incorporate play into my everyday life, but usually I fail. Taking part in the #areyoubookenough challenge felt very important this time around, and I created myself an additional layer of private rules for this game to push myself away from the most obvious places my mind wanders. Of course the end result still looks quite obviously mine, and that’s how it should be. I love creating layers, using transparent and reflective materials, adding self-portrait-ish elements, and engineering flawless structural solutions.

The February theme for the artists’ book challenge was ‘red’, but I first took a bit of a detour colour-wise before ending up with a book as red as this. Those creative detours are actually a total delight. They’re maybe my favourite thing in writing poetry books, too. Going in any direction can result in a clear vision of where you want to go, sometimes that just happens to be in the opposite direction. Here I started with an idea that included a fairly specific colour palette, as many of my own limbs as possible, black stockings and lace. Taking the photo wasn’t easy, even with the help of a timer, but I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out (and I promise I’ll look at the photo admiringly when I’m like 80 and my legs aren’t the same anymore).