Group shot with seven folios and map of the universe portfolio closed as a cover and container for the seven folios
Group shot with seven folios and map portfolio open; shows legend at bottom
Three open folios: Time, Light and Science with transparencies lifted to show layering
Two open folios: Time and Gravity with transparencies lifted
Folios displayed in star cluster
Casey Gardner (Berkeley, CA)
setinmotionart.com
Matter, Antimatter, and So Forth
2014
Letterpress printed, Crane Lettra, Glama transparent paper
Edition of 45
7 folios with transparencies
Folios open to 12 x 9.5; map opens to 18 x 25
6 x 9.5 closed
Description: a series of seven letterpress printed folios illumined with digitally printed transparencies, wrapped in a map of the universe.
Phoebe is a traveller through time and space in search of what matters. Along the way, she meets an intergalactic wayfarer who is also on a quest. He seeks the 10th dimension which can only be reached by learning what is uniquely human. Together they travel to the beginning of the universe and back. Meanwhile, the two travellers investigate the workings of the universe. Each of the seven folios chronicles a mission that revolves around a field of exploration: light, gravity, time, matter, infinity, constellations and science. On the back of each folio is a mission dispatch reporting their discoveries of meaning in the natural forces and phenomena of the cosmos.
Each folio includes layers of translucent exposures. These multi-layered artifacts reflect the time at the beginning of the universe when space became transparent and light could flow freely.
The title of the book refers to a time soon after the Big Bang, when, a small preponderance of matter over antimatter was produced. This asymmetry gave rise to all that exists in the universe, explaining why we have something, rather than a vast nothingness. Ah!
Casey Gardner worked as a journalist before studying printmaking & graphic design at California College of the Arts. In making books, she approaches a subject from many directions and levels of inquiry. Her pages open to a landscape of options and layers of detail for the reader to navigate. Through analytical probing and outlandish premises, she creates a world of language and imagery, inviting the reader to travel into her books along varied routes that render new destinations with each reading. Her award-winning books are collected in several university and private collections, including the US Library of Congress.