An artists’ book takes form

Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
Prattle, scoop, trembling: a flutter of Australian birds
2016
Artists' book, unique state, featuring 15 individual collages on cabinet card with pencil additions, 15 pencil drawings on Fabriano Artistico 640gsm traditional white hot-press paper with metallic paint trim; housed in a Solander box with inlaid collage

A flight of cormorants. A dole of doves. A congress of eagles. A mob of emus.

Unruly the coil, all fifteen winged collages are now under the press.

A trembling of finches. A kettle of hawks. An exaltation of larks. A mischief of magpies.

Why, their beaks have been polished with a 2B pencil; their talons and feathers too, as our collaborative artists’ book, Prattle, scoop, trembling: a flutter of Australian birds, nears completion.

A parliament of owls. A prattle of parrots. A bevy of swans. A plump of waterfowl.

It’s a noisy affair, and slow work, to boot, with each of my cabinet card collages chaperoned by Louise’s beautiful and precise work with the pencil.

Here’s to the slow and glorious process of making.

Prattle, scoop, trembling will be exhibited as part of Birds: Flight paths in Australian Art at Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery later in the year.

Birds: Flight paths in Australian art
2nd December, 2016 – 12th February, 2017
Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
Civic Reserve, 350 Dunns Road (corner of Mornington-Tyabb Road and Dunns Road), Mornington, Victoria

In addition, we are delighted that our artists’ book, Closer to Natural, currently being exhibited as part of the 2016 Libris Awards, has been acquired by Artspace Mackay. The exhibition runs until the 16th of October, 2016.

(Related: Betwixt, at ACMI Mediatheque, as part of the Czech and Slovak Film Festival, 2016; and On the Verge 2016, in the windows of Obus and Collected Works, as part of Blindside’s experimental art festival, 2016)

Image credit: Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison, Prattle, scoop, trembling: a flutter of Australian birds, 2016, artists’ book