‘Into the Abyss’ Artist’s Book

“Into the Abyss” artists’ book is a multimedia work that uses the art of bookbinding and book structuring, and mixes it with Intaglio printmaking, letter stamping, hand embroidery, and content creation to continue the conversation of women’s oppression. This feminist theme narrates the oppression of women and our struggle with power through an image of a woman falling and shrinking the further through the book one goes, until there is only a dot left behind. The falling woman is surrounded in each page by red sewing thread making a border in order to make it look like it was sewn in. This ties in the female associated pastime of sewing to compliment the subject of the work. The shape of the book is the first highlight that alludes to the conversation of women in this world. It is a circular structure that mimics a hole that the lady is falling into because of the oppression that currently exists in this world. The pages introduce accordion vertical fold outs in the shape of a hole that gets longer and larger as the printed image gets smaller, further developing my theme. Inside this black space of the hole are white stamped letters that spell out powerful weighty words dealing with women’s oppression and words that have been said to oppress women. These words were chosen from interviews with individuals I know, who informed me of words still currently used to oppress today. I utilized purple, yellow, and green, being feminist colors, as well as red, being a color of power, protest, anger, etc. to further this artwork. As an individualist I can say that anyone can put themselves in the shoes of the falling woman pictured in this artists’ book because everyone is oppressed in some way by others; emotionally, in actions, or in their beliefs. The goal is to learn from the ideas highlighted in this book to change what happens in the future. Being kind brings people together and can create a healthier and happier place for all, where no holes in society allow for oppression to exist.