Phonebook Prints

GALLERY

 The phonebook prints began as an experiment in my studio one day, when I started bending and contorting an old, large phonebook, which I had always been drawn to as objects. I wondered if the curving lines of the thin pages would register a print, so I prepared the surface and found that it yielded a very interesting block print. 

From there I started gathering phonebooks, as well as old paper, and making a series of print blocks. I came to see my collecting as “harvesting” a resource that was often overlooked and fast becoming obsolete. Since I began the project in 2010, phonebooks have all but disappeared, making this an unintentionally time-specific project. 

Though initially just an accidental process-based exploration, the project has inspired a range of interpretations for myself and from viewers, including: the relationship between human-made and natural objects/materials; mass consumption; the prints’ resemblance to anatomy or medical imaging; and the dynamics of making a print from an object that itself contains a massive amount of printed information, thereby negating it’s original function. 

I am no longer actively developing this project, however the original blocks are still active and prints can be produced upon request.