Books

Since 1999, I have been working mainly on paper and unique books - ‘Sensual Songs’ is the first series of unique works on paper. Inspired by the long avenues of New York and the extraordinary spirit of that cosmopolitan city, works in horizontal but panoramic format started to emerge called ‘Sensual Songs of Sacred Space’. As with the paintings, each work on paper commands its own format and unique, textured surface. The female form is the principal muse of ‘Sensual Songs’ and ‘Sensual Songs of Sacred Space’, exhibiting fragments of her form - appearing and disappearing - as she dances through the panoramic horizon in layers of colour and texture (images). My interest in artists’ books actually dates back to 1974, when I began work on the Inferno of Dante’s ‘The Divine Comedy’, during which I made 5 books (each measuring 76 x 112 cm when laid open, in an edition of 4; plus one Artist’s Proof) containing six hand-coloured etchings and 50 manuscript pages. This was followed by ‘Football Players’ in 1981, a celebration of the male human form (measuring 30 x 42 cm when laid open, brush and black gouache ) and, more recently, ‘Angels’ 1999-2000, a small Leporello (measuring 12 x 100 cm when laid open, brush and cobalt blue gouache. These are some of the unique books, amongst others. The unique work’s “Sensual Songs” and “Sensual Songs of Sacred Space” has been followed by three manuscript hand-made books: “Invocations”, “Caressing with the Constellations” and “Geometry without Gravity”, each measuring 32 x 64cm when laid open. The first, consists of 50 double-page compositions on the name Allah (God) in the Arabic script, following the tradition of Islamic calligraphers elaborating the Holy Name into evocative graphic compositions for devotional contemplation. This book is dedicated to the memory of the innocent victims of 9/11, and of all victims of violence in the world today. Since January 2002 I have been working on ‘Caressing with the Constellations’, using the technical device of ‘pregnant’ space, described above (images): 40 double-page compositions consisting of figurative and abstract forms – interacting, floating and flowering into shapes made real by their literal presence or absence, and celebrating the power of artistic fantasy. In March 2003 I began work on the third book, ‘Geometry without Gravity’, and on associated individual works on paper (images), whose concept I have described above.