Jack Ginsberg Centre for the Book Arts

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Written in Bone
Blood from Stone

Item date(s): 2013

Jo-Ann Chan

Size: 255mm
Binding: Screw post
Technique: Mixed media
Edition: # 1/2

Theme(s): Land, forensic anthropology, fragility, personal identity

Place publication: Potchefstroom
Publisher: The artist
Exhibition 2017

Reference note:
Written in Bone is a seven-part practice-led research project that explores the notion of imbuing a landscape with a personal identity. The artist's book Written in Bone: Blood from Stone is one part of the seven. In light of the current environmental situation, I often choose to represent and tell the stories of mistreated or forgotten landscapes that have been significantly altered by mankind through the practices involved in the reaping of resources. I attempt to apply the principles, theory and workflow of forensic anthropology to these landscapes, repositioning them as victims. For the purpose of this project, Salvamento Quarry was identified as victim. Salvamento Quarry is an

abandoned granite quarry, in the Vredefort Dome Heritage Site, that was closed down due to a combination of low-quality granite and improper mining practices.

This landscape-format bookwork is post-bound. It consists of a combination of digital prints and original artworks. Pages incorporate layering and fold-out mechanisms to help tell the landscape's story.

440 x 255 x 25mm

Exhibition notes:
‘Booknesses: Contemporary South African Artist's Books’.

FADA Gallery, University of Johannesburg.

Curated by David Paton and Eugene Hon.

24 March - 5 May 2017

Ref: DP/17034