ARTIST'S BOOK

Thaw
2010 - Ongoing
handmade paper (cotton, flax, plant greens, pigment), thread, twigs, plexi box
book: 6 x 4 x 2 inches (closed)
box: 8 x 8 x 8 inches

An intersection of art and science, Thaw is a book inspired by thawing polar permafrost. As permafrost thaws in the Earth’s polar areas, gases from ancient, undecomposed vegetation escape into the atmosphere, exponentially increasing carbon dioxide levels. Thaw replicates a similar process on a much smaller scale. Constructed from cotton paper containing raw, unprocessed vegetation (greens, flowers, and seeds from squash, tomato, peppers, dill, and an unidentified, but so-called weed), the book was assembled in the fall of 2010, waterlogged, frozen for the duration of winter, and allowed to thaw and biodegrade in a clear plastic box throughout the spring of 2011. Documentation of the book is all its stages is crucial to the project, as it allows the viewer to access the fourth dimension of the book: time.

After the book had sufficiently thawed it began to mold and sprout. Seeds from one or more of the included plants began to grow out of the head, tail, and fore-edge of the book. Simultaneously decaying and growing, Thaw uses natural processes to explore themes of loss and hope. Loss of the old world and hope for the new one.

Images: 02.27.12