Sombre days that are still somehow lit from within are the perfect breeding ground for artists' books like this.
Image transfer on silk + typewriter on paper. Black and white + black on black. The silk has its special sheen and the black blotter paper could hardly be any more matte. Each material responds to light differently, and each mark made is best viewed at a certain angle.
11x4,5cm / 11x25,8cm / 4.3"x1.8" / 4.3"x10.2"
one of a kind / not for sale
beware of yourself: we have a million hearts, each each most longingly sore
each beyond despair with desire echoing all day long;
aroused by the utterly lost I ask let me come closer, my love, let us for a moment flicker faintly
whilst a darkness hangs against the night, unflowering the almost death.
a million hearts - an artists' book by Kaija Rantakari, 2017 - image transfer on silk + typewriter on paper / www.paperiaarre.com
Typing on the indigo hemp paper a few weeks ago led me to discover just how much mark-making with a typewriter in a way that doesn't result in text, or in text that isn't legible with ease, intrigues me. Creating texture instead of meaning, or meaning that requires a bit more work from the reader than is usually considered appropriate, sits well with my general desire to make simple things a bit too complicated.
This year has brought me face to face with more personal mixed media projects than ever before. I've taken a step towards text as my main focus, which shouldn't come as a surprise given that I'm also a poet. While I'm endlessly fascinated by the mysterious vintage photos I usually work with, words feel always more intimate to me. And so I find myself creating work just for myself, unique pieces for my personal collection, mementos of this time of change and self-exploration (and most longingly sore hearts - if not by the millions, then by handfuls, at least). Not the smartest move financially, but the heart wants what it wants. To balance things out I do have plans for pieces for sale, as well, so it won't take forever before I add new mixed media work in the shop! I have new watch case necklaces all planned out, as well as a few small collage boxes. Have patience with me....