TITLE WORK: The memory of stones
AUTHOR: paula roush
MEDIUM: accordeon book
PAGES: 16
DIMENSIONS: 21 x14.8 cm (21x 120 cm open)
PAPER: Cartridge paper, 130 gsm
BINDING: Duplex accordeon fold structured
PROCESS: Stone lithography
16 collages (gravure and ink)
printed in two large stones, 8 pages each
COLOUR: Black & white
TEXT: Text and colophon printed with laser toner.
Edition: Edition of 10, numbered and stamped
PUBLISHER: msdm publications
RESIDENCY: Frans Masereel Centrum Kasterlee, Belgium
YEAR: 2013
THE MEMORY OF STONES is a collage novel for children loosely
inspired on The invention of lithography written by Alois Senefelder.
This uncanny story is the personal account of an impoverished printer
who by chance hits upon the technique of stone etching.
One day in 1796, whilst researching cheaper alternatives to copper engraving,
he was asked by his mother to write a laundry list,
that he scribbled with grease on a stone.
He later came to realise that with acid he could activate the chemical process
of oil- water repulsion behind stone lithography.
I found the book at the Frans Masereel Centrum whilst learning
the stone lithography technique.
It is considered amongst the printmaking community as one of the most
difficult techniques that I, with no previous training in the field,
had to contend with.
I felt like an outcast and a disappointment
as I made mistake after mistake until some image finally came out of the stones.
During this practice, I had to grind the workshop’s stone slabs
to erase images from previous users
and these would reappear on the stone’s surface
as memories of past stories that came to haunt the creative struggle.
The book is a sequence of 16 collages with ink sourcing material from
outdated printed magazines I carried in a suitcase to Kasterlee
to use during the residency at the Centrum.
It is structured in a double-side leporello fold
and printed in two large stones, 8 pages each.
The accompanying text is a free flow association
that complements the surrealist collage,
none of them attempting to cast light upon the stone transfer process
but rather revealing the demons that memories are challenged with.
To download the ebook edition, visit the Frans Masereel Centrum
where you will find a QR code attached to the press where the book was printed.
contact
paula roush ::: paularoush@gmail.com
msdm studio ::: msdm@msdm.org.uk