Edie Overturf
Portland, OR
www.edieoverturf.com

Don’t Open That Drawer
2023
Linocut, letterpress, woodcut
When open, 27″ long and 10″ tall, 5″ wide (this is with accordion folio open)

Artist Statement

The title of this piece, which includes 5 individual books within a compiled folio, was inspired by a conversation with a friend about managing emotional stress and compartmentalizing. The practice of compartmentalizing is natural, and aids us in managing our multifaceted and complex lives. Putting a few things down, placing them in a drawer for another day is a healthy way to manage stress. However, it can become a crutch, and a gateway to avoiding true feelings, conflicts, or actions that need to be taken. It can also lead to the body rejecting the overuse of the practice, giving us signals such as dissociation or mysterious physical ailments. My body will definitely tell me when I am not facing something, not communicating my feelings and needs, or suppressing my authentic self. This piece was completed at the beginning stage of healing from many old wounds, and forcing myself to see certain changes that needed to happen in my life. When talking with my friend, we switched from one topic of emotional turmoil to another, at which point she said “are you ready to open that drawer.”

My first inclination of the form of this piece was to work in chapters within a single book. But the physicality of removing of those chapters felt like an important interaction for myself, and when considering the viewer’s experience. The folio itself is covered in compartments, and holds the books in such a manner they can retain their individuality, and exist as a collection.

This book was completed while at InCahoots Residency in Petaluma, California.

For a full view of the book, click here.