Composition / Decomposition

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A work in progress. In 2020 I began playing with composition and decomposition, inviting invertebrate species to edit printed text blocks at a range of locations in trees, beneath logs and stones, in plant pots, and various other sites. For the first experiments (pictured here) I deconstructed some leftover text blocks from Andrew McNeillie's Making Ends Meet (a Guillemot Press title published in 2017).

 

One beneath a rock swarmed with ants, creating interesting new paths through the text. Another hanging from a gate did not change at all over many months, in spite of being exposed to frosts, storms and heatwaves, and this one was taken down in the end. (Kudos to the sturdy Mohawk Superfine paper stock!)

 

The best blocks and pages were those interpreted in the moist habitats of woodlice. Woodlice clearly appreciate poetry. The next step will be preparation of the final texts and materials.