Reading Between The Lines - Phase II
Project Abstract
The nature of how books are consumed has constantly been evolving over the recent years - with the onset of e-books and rise of competitors in the business, many second-hand booksellers are struggling to make ends meet as they face a fall in the number of regular buyers. Before the advent of the internet, people often relied on books to receive information as well as recreation, this habit has seen a decline due to the modern-day dependence on online resources for the same. This replaced reliance and the changed demand have had an impact on the livelihoods of second-hand booksellers and the kind of books they sell. Owing to the preceding reasons, I have chosen subsistence of second-hand booksellers and the effect of external influences on it, as my preferred area of study.
Phase II
Objective
To explore styles inspired by the artists chosen during Phase I
To experiment with different medium and materials in order to understand their relevance to the final objective
To create various visual and poetic iterations that are from the perspectives of the bookseller, the book and the reader
Outcome
Artistic explorations that set the base for further inquiry and final outcome
Building of multiple concepts that gave a holistic viewpoint of the person in focus, i.e. the bookseller
Listing of questions for further research from readers that explore ideas of relationship, nostalgia, memories & possession
The initiation of a narrative through visual and poetic iterations for Phase III
Iterations
My name is, What You Call Me
There you are, sitting, adjusting – looking at the street and then back into your phone
screen — jumping up from your seat and smiling at the passer by who hints at being a
potential purchaser – then sitting, shifting, seeing — staring at your screen again.
I
From atop the ashen shelf,
I see you, but I don’t say.
I lay here, quietly,
among many others like me -
with my worn-out spine and tea-stained insides,
I make do with the clutter.
Perhaps, in hope, that the dust will be puffed,
and I will find home in another.
From beneath Morrison’s book,
I see you, but I don’t say.
I watch you walk up & down,
Fast & slow, round and round –
I wonder if you see me too,
I wonder if you remember my name,
I wonder if you’d hear me out
And my purpose will be reclaimed.
II
Like strangers stuck in a time-machine
I wait, you wait, we wait together –
Watching, fiddling, listening closely
to these stories within us,
of struggle, routine and days empty
and a life that happened thus.
Like torn lovers bound to be parted,
I wait, you wait, we wait together –
to whisper in the ears of an accidental hoarder,
the tales of the time that is going to set us free.
So, when she asks you for my name, you say,
My name is, What You Call Me.
Brief Explanation -
The poem is written from the perspective of the
book - how the book sees the bookseller, his habits,
the space he occupies, his relationship with his
customers and with ‘the book’ itself.
The book doesn’t know of its contents, it trusts the
bookseller to make the right recommendation, it is
representative of all the books that make up the
bookshop, therefore, the poem is called -
“My Name is, What You Call Me.”
Kitabein
Concept -Visual Representation of Safdar Hashmi’s Poem; What books are all about
Materials - Photographs, Illustrations, Collage
The Common Thread
Concept - Second-hand Book - the object of focus between the buyerseller as well as the previous owners and the new buyer.
Materials - Paper, jute, watercolour, pen
Subject’s Objects
Concept - Objects from the bookseller’s metaphorical ‘Book of Life’
Materials - Paper cutouts, pen, digital tweaking
Here, There, Everywhere
Concept - Focus on the hand gestures of the bookseller - arrangement of books - how the body navigates through it
Materials - Digital sketches & photographs
A Healing Companion
Concept - How book is seen by a writer/reader - purpose of a book - personality of the reader
Materials - Charcoal and pencil on paper with digital tweaking
Combination of works inspired by different artists