Today I visited the Owl and Lion Gallery in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket, on the first day of their exhibition of 'Artist books', (see the ad above) and I was struck by the wide variety of the great work on show, it’s official - individuality and craftsmanship are alive and well, thank goodness! The exhibit showcased books, and I use that word loosely, by 44 different artists, from various countries.
I was most struck by the delicate work of Sun Young Kang, whose Buddhist approach to life pervades her work, which has an almost ethereal quality. I especially liked her exhibit 3(a) 'The Way To Be Empty' - it is astonishingly beautiful and easy to believe that the work formed part of a meditative process - very awe inspiring.
I also very much liked the concertinas, spirals, and accordions of Sarah Mitchell, whose work you can see over at little paper bird. In fact all of the books were interesting and I came away really inspired to do some more creative bookworks myself. If you have a chance to check out the gallery before 16th July 2008, do go, it is well worth the trip!