Genesis 1

Binding - Sculptural binding with mini concertina egg books

Dimensions: Walnut Stand – 45 cm high, 15 cm wide, 18 cm deep; DNA double helix – 38 cm long,
8 cm diameter; Quail Egg Books – 4 cm high.

A sculptural book assemblage featuring DNA and the egg as the crucible from which life develops and is perpetuated from generation to generation.

The genetic program of the DNA in the nucleus of the egg, along with the cellular machinery and sustenance in the egg once unleashed by fertilization, is the genesis of the miraculous development of a new individual. This genesis initiates a choreography of events more elaborate than a Balanchine ballet. This piece consists of a sculptural DNA structure with the base pairs linking the two helixes providing “shelves” for the “Egg Books”. The DNA and Egg Books symbolically embrace the essential elements that represent the beginning of life. Each egg book consists of a quail egg shell as its cover with carved walnut supports to allow it to stand. When the hinged book covers are opened, a folded Japanese paper accordion is pulled out revealing molecular and microscopical features of the details of early genesis. The six egg books in this piece each contains a different script and images: chromosome and DNA structure, sperm and egg development, fertilization, onset of embryonic development, and gene regulation. A DNA double helix runs the length of each mini  book. I view the egg books, and the DNA structure that houses them, as an integrated Artist’s Book that symbolically speaks to the essence of how we and other creatures begin on this earth. For me it’s a marriage of Art and Science.

This book was chosen for inclusion in the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild (CBBAG) International juried show, Art of the Book 2013.