stick it /// rock it (2017)
One year ago the Sugar Pop Institute came to life, an artist's initiative started by Marianne Hamersma and Ralph de Jongh that promotes and shows artists and artworks that aren't getting enough attention (at least according to us). SPI likes art that has a sweet, sugary layer (and then some other ones underneath). This year the SPI organised a show from March 24 to 26 about sticks and stones. We decided to have the show accompanied by a limited edition publication that focuses on an outsider's view on the subject matter. Three photo-heavy interviews tell a down-to-earth story about something that sounds plain, but is actually very interesting and goes together well with visual art.
The result is a hand bound, double signature Z-fold A4-book with photos of the artworks, three interviews with experts on either sticks or stones (in Dutch but rich with images), and two short stories (one in English).
The cover is a thick fantasy paper and comes in three versions: bricks and two types of gravel. The cover is hand cut and folded into a Z-shape with two signatures bound by hand into each of the folds to make a double book with one part covering sticks and one part covering stones. The fronts are labelled with a sticker carrying the title of the exhibition: 'Lick It, Stick It, Rock It and Roll it', but on the 'stone side' the 'rock it' part is right side up, while on the 'stick side' the 'stick it' part is right side up. What isn't shown in the video is the belly band cut from one of the other cover papers (i.e. brick never has brick as a belly band etc.).