Other//Colours Of A Day
Sara Elgerot , Sweden

               

Other//Colours Of A Day; Sara Elgerot, Stockholm, Sweden, April 2013 I was born in Sweden of Swedish parents. Sweden has not had or been in a war since 1814. It is not the same. I've lived most of my adult life in the UK. I lived in London on 7/7/2005, very near to where the bombs went off. Then life moved on. It is not the same. I knew Baghdad only from history lessons and books. I knew its book market from 'We Came To Baghdad' and a documentary which chronicled Agatha Christie's life in Mesopotamia and talked at length of Baghdad's bookstalls and book market. 'One day', I thought, 'one day I will visit'. Then I knew Baghdad from a war we marched against, terror that doesn't stop. Years, a decade, later it hasn't stopped. It is not the same. I wanted to make a book for transformation, with one wish: May all beings know and live in peace. The book was inspired by transformation and the phrase 'The River Turned Black with Ink'. It was made by taking newspaper photographs of the destruction on and of al-Mutanabbi Street treating them with water, painting with the water on the paper until all the colours had emerged and blended together. Cut up and assembled into books they have turned into 'other'. Dimensions: 21 x 13 cm.; Medium: Printed paper treated with and painted on with water. Scanned in and printed out unaltered. Gathered, folded, cut and assembled. Hand-bound with white and coloured thread. Edition of 3 (+1 artist copy). My medium as an artist is book art/artists' books, but I often combine it with other techniques. My background is in publishing, art, typography, literature, translation and book arts. I have a BA from London College of Printing (now London College of Communication, University of the Arts London) and an MA from University College London. I've also attended additional short courses in book binding techniques. My work is held in a number of collections including the Centre for Fine Print Research Artists' Books collection, Bower Ashton Library Artists' Books collection, Doverodde Book Arts Center Artists' Books collection, the collection at London College of Communication, and the Print Council of Australia Print Archive, as well as in private collections. rareautumn@gmail.com www.rareautumn.com