Special Collections Room, Bower Ashton Library
Batool Showghi - Artists' Books
1st March - 18th April 2010
I came to England in 1985. I studied for many years while looking after my family. I enjoyed my degree and Master Degree courses a lot and they helped me to draw on my Persian heritage and European influences for the source of my inspiration. I am presently a lecturer at Harrow College and have been taking part in different book fairs and exhibitions here and abroad every year. I am a member of the Harrow Open Studios. Every summer we open our studios to the public and I give workshops on artists’ books during and after this event. I am also a member of the Society of Designer and Craftsmen and we had a major exhibition at The Mall Gallery in January 2010.
I started making artists' books more than ten years ago. After I brought my grandmother’s and father’s birth certificate books from Iran with me. I was so intrigued by these small books that I wanted to create a series of books using them. Having lived in this country since 1985 has made me want to recreate and recycle my childhood memories obsessively over and over. These memories and how it used to be, constantly play hide and seek with me. The book as an object and the surface of the pages, with its textures and marks, became a home for my old and new photographs. The pages became a mirror to reflect the reconstructions of crumbled walls, carpeted rooms, all swimming with patterns and textiles to cover the images of my female photographs. The text flows swiftly on top of all these layers to disguise my female pictures even one step further as if to prove to them that they are safe and not exposed! Often photographs are merged with my father’s beautifully inscribed letters and then stitched into pages of books. These elements are woven together with the use of drawing or printing.
Remaking of these unique books has become a ritual for me.
I bring most of my materials from Iran and have a collection of birth certificates and other documents that I use. I take lots of pictures each time I go back and I love to reconstruct family albums using old pictures or old negatives.
Through the artists’ book fairs I have managed to get some commissions, reconstructing family albums for different people. I have been able to give a different life to old and new photographs, making unique artists' book out of them. This is a very time-consuming process but very rewarding.
Batool Showghi
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