Book selected: The Famished Road by Ben Okri
New title: Wreath for a Spirit-Child
I love the language of this book, rich, poetic, magical – the story of a Spirit-child who decides to remain in the world of the Living despite the protestations and fury of his Spirit – companions. He exists balanced between worlds – his continued life a source of grief and despair to his Spirit-companions who long for him to return to them, but a source of joy and celebration to his mother for whom he has repeatedly been born but died tragically young before.
After my mother passed away I discovered she had filled a drawer in the house with things she had preserved from my childhood - books, baby blanket, Communion prayer book and various fragile papery flowers, which had lain wrapped up for over 30 years.
I chose to dismember the book and recreate it as a wreath for a Spirit-child - fragile fantastical blooms, the wreath a symbol of both grief and celebration, and of eternity and continuation after death. In addition to using the original pages from the book, chosen passages of text were scanned and reprinted on different papers. The wreath is placed in a tissue lined box as if tucked away like a half –forgotten memory.
email : lavandula@ntlworld.com
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