Jo Ractliffe
Something this way comes (book and vinyl)
Something this way comes was first conceived as a collaborative film, and also manifests as an experimental 'sound book', which integrates the photographs and soundscape from the film within its construction; and this limited edition book and vinyl recording.
The body of work finds its title in the utterance of one of the three witches in Macbeth and takes the form of a road movie to the ‘end of the world’. From her archive of Holga plastic camera ‘film-strips’, Jo Ractliffe assembled a cut-and-paste journey spanning four continents over the course of 30 years, coming to its end at the southernmost tip of Africa. Philip Miller used both found sound and samples from his archive to create a sonic assemblage. Constructed independently of each other, the visual montage and acoustic fragments come together tangentially, interacting in incongruous ways at times. Editing the film, Catherine Meyburgh composited the photographic strips using a right to left movement, letting the eye rove across and into the image or follow a line without being held back by the frame; she notes how this allows the film to create its own inherent drive - a collage in motion.
The artist’s books again combine image and sound, yet with neither as the main medium; rather, they are parallel experiences delivered through the customised form of the book object. Both the experimental ‘sound book’ and this limited edition box set, which contains a book of the photographs and a vinyl recording of the soundscape, are handprinted and bound by Heléne van Aswegen of The Book Workshop.
Photographs: Jo Ractliffe
Sound: Philip Miller
Printing: Vincent van Graan
Binding and solander box: Heléne van Aswegen, The Book Workshop
Published by the artist | 2021
Box set of artist’s book and vinyl | Edition of 7 + 3AP | Price: On request
