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Huwawa in the Everyday: An Almanac, 2016
Six double-page folded leaves, laser printed on 120gsm Munken Lynx paper, sewn at tab, with 320gsm somerset satin collograph and embossed print cover, brass eyelet and mix-media cord.
Dimensions: 20.9 x 11.1 (closed) / 39 x 28 cm (opened).
Edition of 35
Huwawa in the Everyday is a photobook in the form of a medieval medical folding almanac. Folding almanacs were worn from the belt, containing astrological, medical and calendric information, and employed by physicians to prognosticate and diagnose. This book contains twelve images, one for each month, of coiled materials encountered in my art materials, research and the everyday that might resemble the demon Huwawa/Humbaba’s face. It makes reference to the Mesopotamian divination model housed in the British Museum, which portrays Huwawa’s face as coiled intestines.
The inscription on the reverse of the model reveals an omen that if entrails were encountered that look like this model, it would mean ‘revolution’.
The book is currently on display in the exhibition, Prescriptions: artist’ books on wellbeing and medicine, at the Beaney Museum of Art and Knowledge, Canterbury, until 25 September 2016.
