Follow y / our river lea-minal edges | prompts for transitory states of being
PHOTOGRAPHY+EDITORIAL DESIGN: paula roush, tamara stoll, hḗrā santos
FORMAT: open book within enclosure
BINDING: 3 posters with instructions to fold into pocketbooks, 19 loose leave folios, 1 sewn book ( 2 pamphlets), 1 glued book (perfect binding), 3 loose postcards, in enclosure with labels
TYPESETTING: The Modern Designer
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2023
PUBLICATION LICENSE: Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
EDITION: 100
ISBN: 978-1-7390996-4-0
PUBLISHER: msdm publications + road less travelled press
£57 ADD TO CART
Editorial texts here
Follow Y/Our River is inspired by an index card on the wall of the msdm studio, bearing Joseph Campbell’s timeless words: “Follow your bliss.” These words remind us that the river of y/our bliss has always been waiting for us— by connecting to y/our river, we embark on a narrative that intertwines personal discovery with collective experience, reflecting a shared journey of transformation.
Rooted in the Lea Valley, a landscape in perpetual flux, this project began in autumn 2022 as a collaboration between paula, hḗrā and tamara. Together, we explored and documented the Lea Valley as both a contested and ritual landscape—a place shaped by historical tensions, and ecological change. Through hybrid relational methods—photography, walking, and direct engagement with the human and non-human inhabitants who shape its flow—we traced the river’s shifting identity and its capacity to hold both conflict and reverence.
The book unfolds as an open-ended exploration: 19 loose folios, sewn and glued booklets, folding posters, and postcards—all enclosed in a tactile archive that invites us to physically engage with its narrative, mirroring the river’s endless unfolding.
contact
paula roush ::: paularoush@gmail.com
msdm studio ::: msdm@msdm.org.uk