Ava Chapman

Classics major

I am a book artist: a new, slightly uncomfortable title after 16 years of identifying as a crafter/maker. During my time at Wellesley I have investigated the ways in which making can be an effective way to produce knowledge. One of my pieces on the subject, Icarus, hangs in the Legato Bridge on the third floor of Pendleton West. I love the meditative tasks associated with book arts and hope to continue investigating new methods in the coming years.

γονυ

archival inkjet prints, letterpress, embossment on Arches Cover, Canson Vellum, and Crane's Crest papers, with handmade paper enclosure

Jewett Hallway Galleries

large accordion artist's book on black table with embossed circles alternating with black/white xray imagery

accordion book standing upright, viewed from one end to show the black cover with white inset box with black text 'yovu'

The artist's book γονυ (gonu) was created as part of an honors thesis in Classical Studies alongside a scholarly paper that examines the genre of artists' books that engage with ancient Greek and Roman texts, materials, and myths. The book is an investigation into how impairment can impact one's sense of self, into the evolution of medical insight, and into the viscerality of pain. Text from Sophocles' Philoctetes is placed opposite images and text from the artist's knee surgery. The images and text are affixed to the surface in order to mimic light boards used to view x-ray negatives. Philoctetes is a play that examines how heroic identity is defaced through injury and the expression of pain. This tension between internal and external perception is explored by narrating the artist's experience solely through the words and images of others.