2020 Existent Books: Convergence & Antillean Lacunae: Points of Departure
/IS Projects is proud to launch our 2020 Existent Books, Convergence by Michelle A. M. Miller and Antillean Lacunae: Points of Departure by Onajide Shabaka. As this year’s publications officially enter the world, this blog post is an opportunity for us to illuminate these phenomenal books and their development. Over the last five years, we have worked with South Florida artists from a variety of art practices; not solely catering to those working exclusively in printmaking or book arts through the Existent Books program. The 2020 iteration of the program pair two artists from diverse practices, Miller and Shabaka, through a simultaneous residency and production timeline. Both artists worked with lead collaborator Ingrid Schindall and the team at IS Projects to experiment with new printmaking techniques, test potential book structures, and finalize ideas and sequences in their books throughout the residency.
Miller’s existing practice is explored primarily through painting, drawing and sculpture while Shabaka has a rich interdisciplinary practice which combines mixed media, photography and writing. Both Convergence and Antillean Lacunae: Points of Departure have a thematic focus on preserving unique and personal cultural histories through linguistics and ethnobotany. The development of the books took several turns and each had its own path to completion with plenty of test prints and mockups along the way. We hope you enjoy this deep dive into the objects that have kept us busy over the last several months and the stories that went into making them.
Convergence by Michelle A. M. Miller
From Michelle: “Convergence is a durable recording of a fading memory I want to fix in time and the reverie it inspired. It is equal parts family biography, scientific exposition, and abstract imagery contained within a touchable sculptural object. The accompanying score by Tessa Brinckman adds an aural velatura and conjures a cosmic waterscape highlighted by a recording of my mother speaking Miskitu. As Convergence carries us from the terrestrial to the celestial, we experience memory, time, place and the convergence of seemingly asynchronous events and ideas.”
From Ingrid: “Convergence took a path to development that included collaborations with more artists than any of our previous Existent Books projects. From Tessa Brinckman’s incredible score and Allaxis 3D’s modelling and printing to Living Ink Technologies plant based inks and In Bloom Studio’s lasercutting, not to mention Michelle’s incredibly dedicated studio practice and the long hours put in by the tenacious team here at IS Projects, this book definitely took a village to raise. Michelle and I began discussions of a potential book project well over a year before the beginning of the residency itself. The project started with sculptural roots and developed into a book that celebrates its objecthood as much as its narrative structure especially when encircled in its mesmerizing slip case. As with any hand made book, we faced technical challenges throughout the process but we were able to overcome and put together something unique. That’s what makes the hard work that goes into creating artists’ books worth it, you bring together different ideas and aesthetic elements then plan and test until everything clicks. The resulting whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.”
Tech Specs: Convergence is drum leaf bound with a curved hard cover and die cut shaped pages. The cover is foil stamped and the interior pages are letterpress and screen printed using algae pigmented plant based ink. The centerfold and last image include lasercutting. Each book is signed and numbered by the artist. A special edition of the first 20 books in the edition of 100 are housed in a 3D printed slip case designed by the artist.
About the Artist: Michelle A M Miller is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in West Palm Beach, FL exploring a language of visual abstraction where perception and imagination coalesce with mindful art production. Through personal biography, science, history, myth, and fiction she examines what she perceives are the essential forms and radiant energies of our cosmic, entangled existence. Recent solo exhibitions include Resource Depot, West Palm Beach and IS Projects, Ft Lauderdale. She has been awarded artist residencies at Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach and IS Projects, Ft Lauderdale. Miller earned her BFA in painting from Florida Atlantic University and her BA in art history from Georgetown University. Read more about Michelle’s book in this lovely blog post written by the artist: September: Syzygy. For more on Michelle’s practice, visit her website.
Convergence is available in our shop >>
Antillean Lacunae: Points of Departure by Onajide Shabaka
From Onajide: “My book, Antillean Lacunae: Points of Departure, follows my path over the past several years through several residencies and research on subsistence and industrial rice cultivation, and the culture developed around those doing the labor. The majority of my investigations have taken place in Suriname (South America) and coastal Georgia (Lowcountry). Both regions were heavily influenced by the agricultural knowledge of Africans, both those enslaved and maroons (who escaped the plantations for freedom). The book has a small amount of text, but includes photographs of specific sites, laser cut drawings, letterpress and screen printed images of drawings, with an opening page that is unique in each copy. I am pleased and excited to present this very special editioned artist book.”
From Ingrid: “Antillean Lacunae: Points of Departure came together quite naturally. Onajide is our first artist selected from our open call and we were very excited when we saw his application come in due to his conceptual rigor and the aesthetic possibilities of his work. We spent most of the residency experimenting with and then dialing in specific printmaking techniques. The most fun element for me was the watercolor monoprint on the first page of the book. We burned a screen with 10 of the same page on it and Onajide filled in each image area with watercolor creating 10 unique paintings. Once the watercolor was dry we used clear screen printing base to print the watercolor onto a large sheet of paper. With this process you can typically get 3-5 pulls before the watercolor is completely used up so each screen with 10 unique paintings becomes 30-50 unique prints for the edition. The resulting prints capture the spontaneity of watercolor painting in the more structured form of printmaking and marries the two mediums beautifully. The process dovetailed into Onajide’s plans for the book nicely so I was happy to be able to share it during the residency. Book and print projects are most successful (and enjoyable) when there is opportunity for exchange and growth on all sides of the collaboration.”
Tech Specs: Antillean Lacunae: Points of Departure is stab bound in a hard cover with linen and vintage book cloth and foil printing. The interior pages were letterpress printed, screen printed, digitally printed and laser cut. The first image in the book uses a watercolor screen monoprinting technique so the image is unique in each book. The letterpress text was hand set by the artist from IS Projects’ collection of antique and vintage lead type. The book was printed in an edition of 100 and is hand numbered and signed by the artist.
Onajide Shabaka, is an interdisciplinary cultural practitioner, and currently lives and works in Miami, Florida. Shabaka’s practice is connected through historical and biographical themes related to ethnobotany and geography that include African diaspora and Native American cultures. Onajide Shabaka has been artist in residence at Suriname Botanical Research Residency, DVCAI, Paramaribo, Suriname; AIRIE Everglades Artist Residency, Everglades National Park, FL; Project Row Houses, Visiting Artist, Houston, TX; DVCAI Artist Residency, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; selected participant in international cultural exchanges in, Suriname, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, and awarded grants & fellowships including, Creative Investment Grant, Broward County, FL; New Forms Florida, Individual Artist Grant; Individual Artist Fellowship, Florida Department of Cultural Affairs; Florida Humanities Council; Locust Projects Wavemaker Grant; and ArtCenter South Florida Ellies Grant. Shabaka was awarded an MFA from Vermont College of the Fine Arts.
For more on Onajide’s practice, visit his website.
Antillean Lacunae: Points of Departure is available in our shop >>
There’s no question that this year’s publications were born at a strange time. So with that, we would like to extend a special thanks to the John S and James L Knight Foundation for supporting this year’s books through the Knight Arts Challenge grant. As a small business trying to stay afloat during a global health crisis, a project like this could have easily been delayed or gone to the wayside. Support from Knight came at the perfect time, enabling us to focus on one of our passion projects during a year when opportunities to ‘fill our cup’ can seem few and far between.
To learn more about the expansions to this year’s projects, including the artist residencies, check out our recent blog post.