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Bound to Happen

Stephen  Hoskins

1996
(with Jonathan Ward) die-cut paper, screenprinted, boxed bookwork
edition of 25

I make very few books, in total I have only made six. I made my first book as a student, in 1976, in Ron King's studio. This prompted me to make a pop-up book in 1980. I spent a year making it and as a venture, it could only be made with the luxury of time. I did not make another book for fifteen years./ Currently, the only reason for me to make a book is to challenge the borders of what can be termed 'book'. I feel a book has to have some form of narrative and an ability to be read in the broadest sense, beyond that I have a great ove of the process of making. Therefore I hope all my books express the enjoyment I feel in making them.// For two of the last three books I made, I collaborated with other people. At the time of making, this can feel problematic, but the results always justify the temporary difficulty.// Making a book takes me away from the mainstream activity of printmaking, and therefore I feel I can make work that bears no relation to my normal practice.// These self-imposed restrictions often place blocks onto one's thinking. Therefore, the real delight of artists' book making, is that for the majority of artists it is primarily an act of gentle subversion, both perceived and actual.

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