Ann Forbush, Ania Gilmore and Annie Zeybekoglu, “A Fighting Chance”

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A tribute to the courage and activism of young Pakistani schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai, A Fighting Chance is designed to represent a child’s school notebook. It comprises young children’s writing samples, as well as statistics about girls’ education from around the world.

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A look at the book’s pages, showing the children’s writing samples as well as the framing elements on which are recorded statistics about girls’ education from around the world. Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani schoolgirl and advocate for girls’ education in her country has become a symbol of the empowerment of education worldwide.

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A detail shot of the framing element of one page of A Fighting Chance, on which is recorded the statistics about girls’ education in Malala Yousafzai’s native Pakistan. The young Pakistani schoolgirl and activist was targeted by the Taliban to silence her outspoken advocacy for girls’ education in her country.

 


 
Ann Forbush, Ania Gilmore and Annie Zeybekoglu (Boston and Watertown, MA)
apforbush.com / aniaartstudio.com / anniezey.com

A Fighting Chance
2013
Image transfers, tracing, mulberry paper, mounting frames, gaffer tape, waxed linen thread, typewriter, Coptic Binding
Edition of 3
12″H x 11.25″W x 10″D open
12″H x 11.25″W x 1/25″D closed

A Fighting Chance is a collaborative work by Ann Forbush, Ania Gilmore, and Annie Zeybekoglu. We were all quite moved by the story and terrible events surrounding the life of the young Pakistani schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban for her outspoken advocacy for girls’ education in her native country. A Fighting Chance is a tribute to her courage, and comprises children’s penmanship and writing samples, as well as statistics for girls’ education around the world. As women, we came to appreciate even more deeply that access to books and education is an invitation to a life-long journey of growth, discovery, and empowerment.

Ann Forbush
Although primarily a printmaker, I have a passion for tactile materials. Making one-of-a-kind books has been the perfect vehicle for me to combine a wide variety of media with words and images. My more unusual pieces range from an edible book made of flatbread and sugar transfers to a book installation comprised of poster-sized waterproof pages that were signposted around a 40 foot outdoor fountain. I especially enjoy making collaborative books because conferring with other artists and historians offers a rich counterpoint to my usual studio practice.

Ania Gilmore
Agnes Martin once wrote “An Artist is the one who can fail and fail and still go on” – these powerful words reaffirmed my creative journey by inspiring me to realize that art is a process that when started can never be finished. While studying design and printmaking I discovered a great passion for book arts. In my work, I explore the book itself, the boundaries between the form and the content. As an emigrant, I am infused with inspiration resident in my roots and history. I am interested in the continuous growing dialogue of identity and multiculturalism, which is a central element in modern society. The source of my imagery, which explores the connection between chaos and order amongst themes, is both derived by chance and experimentation.

Annie Zeybekoglu
I make a conscious effort not to work from intent, but rather to give myself over to the materials completely, and to pay close attention to the textures, materials, colors, and the emotional and physical response they elicit. I am fascinated with decay, the coming apart of things that are tidy or predictable; likewise, an interest in pattern and the random disruption of pattern. Most essentially, I trust in markmaking as the most natural physical way of connecting, seeing, and recording encounters. Books are a vehicle for both ideas and tangible expression, for exploring the complement between materials, content, and responsive form.