Peculiar & Commonplace

Peculiar & Commonplace (2018). Pen, pencil, and inkjet printing on hanji, handmade papers, thread, manipulated papers and materials (including but not limited to natural dye, beeswax, ink, suminagashi, woven and knitted paper, ribbon, and fabric). 11.5 x 7.5 x 0.75′ closed. 14 pages. Variable edition of 10. Collections of Kenyon, Oberlin, Metropolitan Museum of Art Watson Library, SCAD Atlanta, UT San Antonio, UW-Madison Kohler Library, Stanford, UCLA, Yale, Cynthia Sears.

This book combs through observations from various people’s lives, and pairs these stories with quotations from books and media that I have read or consumed for almost 15 years. These quotes are included in the spirit of commonplace books, and reflect my lifelong practices (and/or obsession) with compiling inspiration, organization, and filing.

An omnipresent narrative accompanies text through drawings and objects. It mimics an instruction manual on how to sew a paper garment, which appears at the end, constructed from discarded prints accumulated in the making of the book. These tip-ins balance the tension and anxiety of the stories; these sewing scraps attempt to be neutral, a safe location for the reader to place their own biographies.