The Studio in 1999

The 20th century is on its last legs and nearing its end. Letterpress printing using movable type came into use proper by the end of the 15th century – greatly helped by Johannes Gutenberg. During the 1970s it quickly lost its dominance. New printing techniques were quicker, did not need as much space and would involve less staff. Being able …

25 Years of Printmaking: How it all began

Probably this way: At the end of the 1970s I bought a camera, a Nikon FM. A tough tool, for proper work. No automatic functions. It‘ll accompany me for more than 30 years: on Scottisch peat bogs, on Swedish glaciers, in the primeval forests of Poland, while touring England – the camera would be my robust sketch book always, wherever. …

Triptych 11 September

On 11 September 2001 an unprecedented act of terrorism destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York (USA) and killed thousends of people. Shortly after I came across this twin-trunk tree on an autumnal walk not far from a very special location: Nördlingen Ries, which is an impact crater formed by a meteorite crashing here around …

Manarah 2: A Divan of Time

„Manarah“ is a term of Arabic origin. It means lighthouse or signpost. I have chosen this term for my series of magazine-like artist’s books. Each issue or volume in this series is meant to be a place shedding light in the sense that it offers orientation. Each issue covers one topic. The topic of issue 2 is „Time“. The nine …

Manarah: The first three issues

Manarah is an old Arabic word for ‘lighthouse’, a place of light to help those on a voyage find their way. Later the word developed into ‘minaret’ – which is the tower of a mosque. I found out about this a few years ago whilst doing research on this topic. The Swiss populace had just voted not to allow the …

Oxford Fine Press Book Fair 2018

The first book made entirely at the new place I moved to in 2016 will be on the table at Oxford Fine Press Book Fair. Open at Kassam Stadium, Grenoble Road, Oxford, OX4 4XP Saturday 24 March 2018 from 11AM to 6PM Sunday 25 March 2018 from 10AM to 5PM Find all exhibitors in the Conference & Events Centre. Expect …

Where the Red Poppies Dance

When living in England as a one year overseas student in 1984/85 I had met with the tradition of Remembrance Day for the very first time. I was touched by the way how the consequences of war were dealt with and also by the scale of it. It left me impressed and thoughtful. Years later I came across the folksong …

Cumbria

When on holidays in Scotland some years ago we went into an antiquarian bookshop where we found “The British Encyclopedia In10 Volumes Illustrated”. It was ever so cheap – for the simple reason that volumes 7 to 10 were missing. Being book lovers we couldn’t resist bying it anyway. It had been published back in 1933. Vol 3 said “CHI-DUN”, …