the future, unimagine

The Future, Unimagine, 2017.
in association with (and available from) Recent Work Press.
Paperback, 203 x 228mm, 48pp

In 2015 poet Angela Gardner was invited to the print studio of artist Caren Florance to set some blocks of ‘random’ text using metal letter­press type. As a separate creative work,‘ The Future, Un-imagine’ was taking form in Gardner’s mind; there was also ambient sound in the studio, a radio playing and wide-ranging conversation taking place between the two as Gardner set the type. Her seven ‘key’ textblocks were then print-performed by Florance for over a year to produce multiple readings and visual patterns, reflecting the structured chaos that Gardner uses in her writing practice. The artist book that emerged, Working Papers, is impossible to reproduce ‘accurately’ without losing many of its material properties; this chapbook is an opportunity to remix some of its pages to form new arrangements around Gardner’s resolved poem. The result is an augmented presentation of the poem and a companion to the limited edition artist book. 

Images on right are selections from the work. 

Angela Gardner has worked with Caren on other projects: Of Sky and Swung Weight (2012); Interference (2014); Pleasure Demolition (2015); and Working Papers: hone/torrent (2015-17).

Angela Gardner is an award-winning poet with four books: Parts of Speech (UQP, 2007), Views of the Hudson (Shears-man, 2009), The Told World (Shearsman Books, UK, 2014) and Thing&Unthing (Vagabond Press, 2014) as well as two fine press books twelve labours and The NightLadder (both lighttrappress 2009). She edits at www.foame.org and is a visual artist with work in both national and international collections.