The Darkness

“The Darkness” taken from “An Exercise for Kurt Johannessen” (2010) by permission of the author, Sarah Bodman. Text and images ©2012 Maureen Piggins

Hand bound 12-page accordion book, birch bark covers, wood paper, inkjet,

Dimensions:
4.5″w x 5.5″h in an edition of 9

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The darkness

chairs left vacant

our words

buried in the forest

~

the northern Danish wind

a vanitas of fossil and barrow

revealed in the quiet language of the field

– Maureen Piggins

A collection of writing buried in a northern Danish forest near Doverodde, Denmark was the inspiration for Sarah Bodman’s BookArtObject’s Edition Four. A coincidence, as I happened upon the project while planning my own trip to deliver the keynote at Doverodde’s annual book arts festival. Once there, I was struck by the natural beauty of the land – the proximity of fjord to countryside – and also by the history underfoot. As I hiked with other artists through forest and heather and over Viking barrows covered in wild blueberries, the wind blasted away conversation and left us each to our own thoughts.

The title “The Darkness” brings to mind our own mortality, and the images within (of Doverodde and surrounding countryside) function somewhat like a vanitas painting – scenes that evoke self reflection and remind us that our time here is finite. The poem attempts to capture this while also referencing Sarah’s work, which I may have actually passed over unknowingly. memory, absence and place.

Conceived for BookArtObject, Edition Four.