msdm a nomadic house-studio-gallery for photographic art and curatorial research, an expanded practice of the artist's book, photobook publishing and peer-to-peer collaboration created by contemporary artist paula roush

TITLE WORK: The Beauties of DECOMPOSITION
SUBTITLE: Displayed In bibliographical,
historical, and descriptive pulp, interspersed with
anecdotes of the arts
AUTHORS: paula roush & Michael Hampton
MEDIUM: Multiple with 3 books, handmade paper
specimen and photograph in a box
DIMENSIONS: 21x15cm (book 1), 
27×19.5cm (book 2), 18.5x17cm (book 3)
PAGES: 40 pages (book 1), 24 pages (book 2),
24 pages (book 3)
PAPER: evercolor cream 80gsm (book 1) 
corona offset 120gsm  (book 2), 
canon 80gsm (book 3)
BINDING: saddle-stitch books 1, 2 and
brass screw post book 3

COVER: Foil-stamped grey board box
32x23cm with unique handmade
paper specimen 24x19cm
INSERT: Varied inserts including
1 colour photograph on gloss paper
(15×10.5cm)
PROCESS: Laser printing
COLOUR: colour and b&w
TEXT: Essay by Michael Hampton 
EDITION: 12 copies accompanied by
a certificate of authenticity signed
by the authors.
PUBLISHER: msdm publications
YEAR: 2015

EXHIBITIONS
The Book Dispersed
GALLERIES:  Casa das Artes and
 Sput&Nik the Window, Porto
DATES: Sept 24 -Oct 28, 2017
See here
Unbound
GALLERY: Herbert Read Gallery
DATE:  20 Oct – 9 Nov 2017
See here



ABOUT THE WORK
Foil-stamped grey board box contains a unique handmade paper specimen and three books:
Book 1: Decomposition
Composed of an essay, cartoon and documentary photographs is a peek at the studio working process, placing it in a continuum along with other self-published books such as Smiles’s.
Book 2: Scanned records of paper specimens #1-12 
Aggregates the scanned records of the handmade paper specimens, verso and recto, displayed as series.  Since they will be dispersed, each original specimen is included in one book of the edition of 12.
Book 3: Thanks for the information and good news
Contains the scanned letters that Gustav sent to Michael by Royal Mail Post (always first class), mostly trying to arrange meet ups at specific galleries to see exhibitions, and participate in symposia and other art events.

Concept-specific paper is a refined substrate in the world of the artists’ book. The logic of the work is materially inscribed in the fibres of handmade paper. In the case of The Beauties of DECOMPOSITION,  the paper’s meaning is derived from The Book Dispersed project. The special edition contains a paper specimen composed of pulp from the abortive funding application for The Book Dispersed, an exhibition devised by the collective Media Instaveis/Unstable Media, blended with pulp from Michael Hampton’s magnum opus Unshelfmarked: Reconceiving the artist’s book (author’s copy), together with extra pulp from Samuel Smiles’s Self-Help (a print on demand copy purchased on eBay).
Here, in Chapter VI entitled ‘Workers in Art’, we found words to inspire us: to “force our way upward in the face of poverty and manifold obstructions”.

The book, dedicated to the late Auto-Destructive artist and activist Gustav Metzger, is a work about dispersion, exploring the tension between scattering and collecting/organizing.

The Beauties of DECOMPOSITION Foil-stamped grey board box: 32x23cm.
The Beauties of DECOMPOSITION Foil-stamped grey board box: 32x23cm
Unique handmade paper specimen + Laser printed books in bespoke cover/box
Unique handmade paper specimen + book 1 in cover/box
decomposition-1
Unique handmade paper specimen + book 1 in cover/box
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Unique handmade paper specimen + book 2 in cover/box
roush-hampton-decomposition-15
Unique handmade paper specimen + book 3 in cover/box
The Beauties of DECOMPOSITION, exhibition views, Herbert Read Gallery Canterbury
The Beauties of DECOMPOSITION Vatious printed items in glass display case, Unbound exhibition, Herbert Read Gallery, Canterbury
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The Beauties of DECOMPOSITION Vatious printed items in glass display case, Unbound exhibition, Herbert Read Gallery, Canterbury
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The Beauties of DECOMPOSITION Vatious printed items in glass display case, Unbound exhibition, Herbert Read Gallery, Canterbury
The Beauties of DECOMPOSITION, exhibition views, Herbert Read Gallery Canterbury
The Beauties of DECOMPOSITION Vatious printed items in glass display case, Unbound exhibition, Herbert Read Gallery, Canterbury
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front The Beauties of Decomposition(2017) paula roush & Michael Hampton back Pimping my Ride (2017) Eugénia Mussa, Installation view The Book Dispersed exhibition
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The Beauties of Decomposition, paula roush & Michael Hampton