The PAPERBACK series
Stokes, T. Passage, Weproductions, London, 1972, 128pp,11x18cms, offset, edition 1000.
Stokes, T. Foolscrap, Weproductions, London, 1973, 160pp,11x18cms, offset, edition 1000.
Stokes, T. Spaces, Weproductions, London, 1974, 158pp, 11x18cms, offset, edition 1000.
Douglas, H. / Stokes, T. Loophole, Weproductions, London, 1975, 176pp,11x18cms, offset, edition 1000.
Douglas, H. / Stokes, T. Chinese Whispers, Weproductions, London, 1975, 176pp, 11x18cms, offset, edition 1000.
This series of paperbacks published between 1972-1978 constitute early and original works in the development of the genre Artists' Books / Book Art. Locating the book as structured place with the use of photography, the artists investigate imagery in relation to the page and the book format to develop new ways of reading. Primarily visual with embodied texts the books construct time-based and specialised narratives within the sequencing of pages.
In Passage (1972), two halves of a sandwich are spread, to be constantly prized open and jammed shut again with the turning of pages (illustrated left), and in Foolscrap (1973) mustard seeds take root and grow through the front and back of the pages.
In Chinese Whispers a corner cupboard is constructed to the proportions of the open book to become both represented and literal space of the opening. Within this space words and phrases are given object status as the means of integrating text and image and developing the narrative thread (4 illustrations below).
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