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Impressions (Portraits of a Page). 2022. Wax, twine, paper, book board, and book cloth.
[Overall] 35.3 x 28.2 x 3.3 cm (13.9 x 11.1 x 1.30 in).
[Inner book] 23.0 x 13.5 x 4.5 cm (9.06 x 5.31 x 1.77 in).
A fresh sheet of paper is marked by its crisp, pristine edges. As books are cradled, their pages furled, turned and caressed, they gradually accumulate the marks and traces of their readers.
For Impressions (Portraits of a Page), I found an old book in a thrift store and deconstructed it, then made relief prints of every page on fresh sheets of cotton rag paper. The faint debossed impressions of the worn pages are transferred onto the pristine paper, preserving their contours, creases and traces of use through negative space.
I cast the front and back covers of the book in wax. Brittle and vulnerable to the touch, they disintegrate ever so slightly each time the work is handled. I made the wax covers slightly smaller than the new text block, deliberately leaving its edges exposed so that they, too, might gradually acquire wear and tear and begin to mirror the deterioration of the original book.
Set within a large wax frame, Impressions (Portraits of a Page) tells the story of another book through wrinkles, impressions and absence. In inheriting its traces, the new book also begins a temporal journey of its own, continuing to change through touch, handling and time.
Copyright © 2021- Angelica Ong. All Rights Reserved.