Marlene MacCallum, Canada
Townsite House
Hand bound book with photogravure, screen print, and lith film.
Livre relié à la main avec photogravure, sérigraphie, et film lith.
25.5 x 25.5 x 1.5 cm
2006
Artists' Books / Livre d'artiste
Artist's Statement:
The Tonite House is a two-part project consisting of a series of 34 toned, fibre-based silver gelatin prints and a book work. The project was inspired by the experience in living in Corner Brook’s Tonite area. Four models of homes were built in the 1920-30s by the pulp and paper mill for their management and skilled labour. I photographed in five homes – all the same model as the one I live in. I wanted to provide a reading experience that would give the visual equivalence of the uncanny experience of being in homes that are the same/not the same as mine. As seemingly unmitigated documents of the homes, the photographs elicit a simultaneous reaction of familiarity and disorientation. By contrast, the book work makes use of a more mediated process of representation. Using photogravure, film transparencies, and screen printing, the hand bound book work layers and mirrors images and text to echo the architectural palimpsest.