It was wonderful to have the opportunity to share Super Special Normal in the Club Room as part of the cultural events in their series: ‘Meantime’ At the Chapel, in Bruton, Somerset. We continued the format of an artist conversation between Leonora Oppenheim – a long-time friend and artist based in Somerset. Through her lens of embodied practice in art making we talked about the themes in the book and the dialogical process between making and writing and I read some extracts from the book.
The intimate setting created a space for some in the audience to share their tender stories about love, loss and grief as well as how to embark on the journey of being parent to a child that is different and who will be encountering the ableist gaze…
Book Event At the Chapel
9th March 2024
It was an honour to present the book to a community of academic colleagues and students at Regent’s University London in the Knapp Gallery. This event hosted a conversation between me and my academic colleague and friend Oliver Sterland.
We discussed the themes in the book: about my brother’s indignance to the ableist gaze; about the shifting nature of our sibling dynamics over time; and how my relationship to my brother continues beyond his death.
We also talked about the process of how the book came about, and how it defies the norms of literature genres. The closest suitable label for this type of literature falls within ‘creative non-fiction’. Although, as the book book explores the dialogic relationship between visual language and literary expression, it is an art work and therefore the label ‘artist’s book’ remains the most suitable.
Book event at Regent’s
5th December 2023
It was exciting to launch the book at Reference.Point in central London - a bookshop and a bar with a library at its heart. The library boasts a ‘growing collection of rare books, ephemera and printed matter focused on Post-War Radical Art, Architecture, Design, Fashion and Culture.’ It felt like a good space to launch Super Special Normal as it welcomes work at the intersections of different literary and artistic forms. In their newsletter they wrote about the book:
“A profoundly moving work, at once political, personal and poetic, deftly moving through light and darkness with generosity.”
The evening hosted a conversation between Danica Maier – a long-time friend, an American-born artist and academic based in the UK with a background in painting, textiles, and drawing and myself. We dug into the themes in the book – memory, grief, and the ableist gaze and the shared some insights to the artistic process. It was wonderful to have the New York based book designer - Povilas Utovka present. He spoke about the collaboration and development of the book design. To top and tail the talk, we had DJ LYLEY spinning some special discs form his record collection of fine music from all across the musical spectrum with strong roots in soul, funk, disco, reggae, hip hop and jazz.
It was another a lovely celebration in company of community of friends and colleagues and an opportunity to thank everyone for their support!
London Book Launch
14th November 2023
To mark the entry of the book into the world a book launch was held in Oslo at Sentralen on Thursday 31. August 2023. The evening opened with an introduction by cultural producer Hilde Herming, followed by a conversation between artist/ writer Anette Lundebye and Berlin-based interdisciplinary visual artist Yane Calovski - a concept interlocutor for the project.
Hilde helped to explain the difference between an ‘artist’s book’ and an ‘art book’: "artist books are thought of as a work of art in themselves" in contrast to art books that "tend to showcase works of art created in another medium". In addition to their work as creators, artists become publishers, marketers and distributors – it is an artistic practice in its own. The limited edition is also significant – in this case the edition is of 500 copies.
The conversation between Anette and Yane touched on the aspects such as: what was most challenging about the project - the embroidery and writing - that led to the book; at what point it became a book and its path to publication; some of the influences that have inspired the work; the social-political challenge of speaking about the ableist gaze – and how this contributes to a public discourse.
It was a lovely celebration in company of family, friends and community, and an opportunity to thank everyone who have supported the publication so far!
Book launch in Oslo
7th September 2023
You’re working on a project, it’s becoming a book, you need a title… how do you create a title that is compelling, meaningful, suggestive? A title is like a key, a clue, an invitation. This book found its title in a conversation between me and artist Yane Calovski, who has been a concept interlocutor to the project. He was the first person I shared the growing manuscript with and right from the start he championed the work.
Yane and I met in Philadelphia, USA in the context of the Fabric Workshop and Museum (FW&M), where we became and have stayed great friends ever since. Yane also met my brother, Alex, back in the days of FW&M when he came to visit me in Philly. Yane gained a good sense of who my brother was to me and in the world. We both share a strong bond with our siblings.
So when we were discussing, Yane said – this book needs a good title. I nodded agreeing, and for a moment we were transported back to those early days of our friendship when we were learning to know each other and ourselves and being ‘norm creative’ in our own ways. For Alex things were different. To not be judged as less capable, he strived for excellence in sports to defy the normative perceptions of (dis)ability as physically limiting. To be accepted as ‘normal’ he became exceptional.
Talking about this the title ‘Super Special Normal’ emerged. Yane articulated it. I heard it. Boum. That was it. Super Special Normal – almost like a spell – the result of a co-creative moment. There was no doubt. We had found the title, the key, and agreed that it had to be treated as one concept – not three words. And with that premiss Povilas designed the title for the book using a rounded line picking up on the metaphorical thread of the embroidery hoop. Magic all round.
Yane will be joining me for a conversation about the book as artistic practice for the book launch in Oslo at Sentralen on 31st August 2023.
Finding a Book Title
14th August 2023
8th August 2023
At the Printers
The stack of paper sheets on the photo is a book in the making! Today was the day that Super Special Normal went to print at ETN Grafisk, a Norwegian printer in Skien that delivers on quality and sustainability through maintaining local craftsmanship, skills and jobs, alongside the highest environmental standards by reducing impacts to the minimum.
Going to print is a big milestone in a book project as we move from digital to paper. I was there to check colours and that everything was to the specifications. It was exciting to see the first prints emerge on the tactile uncoated paper. The book is printed offset with LED-UV technology on a Roland 700 press. With Litho Offset printing, you cannot just change a detail once the colour plates have been made for each page. This means that the design and preparation is crucial to achieving a high-quality result, which an artist’s book requires. This had been expertly done by New York based designer Povilas Utovka, in conversation with me and the printers.
The next steps are folding and sewing the inside pages, which then go to the bookbinders Bokbinderiet Johnson who happen to be the last bookbinder in Norway to still produce hardback covers. The book will be covered with cloth and have a flat spine. The endpapers will be stuck to the cover and the cover title and texts will be embossed with white foil. We have added a satin ribbon to mark a page you want to return to. Very soon we will be able to hold the book in our hands and hopefully have a multi-sensory experience.