either way

either way (2017). Abaca and mulberry paper with persimmon juice, pencil, beeswax, paper thread and yarn. 9 x 5.75 x 0.5′ closed, 12′ wide open. Wesleyan Olin Library Special Collections.

This book can be read in either direction, referring to the different ways that cultures read: the binding is a Western codex but the title pages refer to Asian books that are read with the bound spine on the right side. It also asks the reader more overtly to impose and infer meaning through objects embedded in and emerging from the pages, as there is no other text beyond the covers. The covers themselves are made from layers of papers made from paper scraps that include fragments of the text of the oldest extant book printed with moveable type, Jikji, coated many times with a favorite Korean finish of persimmon juice.