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2007 marks
the 50th anniversary of the first publishing of Ian Fleming’s
book, FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE, which sparked the entire James
Bond cult.
With an artistic installation based on 550 copies of the same
book, this is my contribution to the celebration of a cultural
phenomenon.
A
beginning
What began as a visual joke, from 5 packets of 1970’s Soviet
condoms, has developed into an installation based on the Ian
Fleming book FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE.
In 1990, a friend, who was acquainted with my collections,
presented me with this souvenir from his travels in Eastern
Europe. This was the start of a search that has lasted 17
years and which has resulted in a collection of over 550
copies of the same book. All the copies are second hand, and
the condition has varied according to how the owner had valued
the book. I have had help in finding the books and have always
stipulated that condition is of no importance as long as they
have had a ‘life’.
Each edition is given its own shelf, so naturally the shelves
are of various sizes according to the number in each edition.
One may even qualify as the world’s smallest bookshelf.
This library is the backbone of the installation.
Private
marks
Many of the books have been embellished in various ways by the
original owners. The most usual is the writing of a name and,
on occasion, an address. At times the owner has written a
short diary entry or used the inside cover as a note book.
When the book has reached the second-hand bookshop, the most
frequent information is the price of the book. A third level
of information is an occasional message from the new buyer,
directed to me.
I have compiled all this information in a 100 page catalogue
illustrated with the actual fly leaf inscriptions.
Licence to
shred
In keeping with the spy/secrecy theme there is a shredded
book, produced in a limited edition of 69 copies. Each book is
signed and numbered and is displayed in a box with a
transparent window. Every book in this special edition is from
the 13th printing, published by Pan Books in 1963.
Books as decoration
The final piece in the installation is a
70x100cm poster in an
edition of 200, depicting 400 book covers shown from the front
and displayed in chronological order, starting with the Pan
Books edition from 1959.
A celebration
When I began this project, 17 years ago, I had no idea where
it would end or quite what form it would take.
The collecting would have continued had I not realized
that it is 50 years ago that the book was first published. A
more significant opportunity for showing the finished piece
would be hard to find. |
