The Cover of a Book is the Beginning of a Journey

About

Building on Arnolfini's recent approach to more experimental formats for presenting art, this exhibition uses a specific tendency in artists' book works to generate an energetic series of events and activity. Focusing on books that either offer sets of instructions or are derived from instructions - the books unsettle the usual distinctions between writers and readers, artists and audiences, and act as prompts to go beyond the conventions of reading. Partly drawing from Arnolfini's archive, which includes several hundred artists' books - many dating from the 1960s and 1970s, and from the artist book collection at the University of the West of England, the exhibition presents a whole range of publications by renowned and emerging artists including: Angela Bulloch, Sophie Calle, Melanie Carvalho, Don Celender, Douglas Huebler, Boem Kim, Alison Knowles, Jonathan Monk, Ed Ruscha and Lawrence Weiner amongst others. The title for the exhibition was determined by the instruction from Jonathan Monk's artist book Meeting #13. On Sat 17 Jan there will be free screenings throughout the day featuring films from Ed Ruscha, Emily Wardill and Jonathan Monk.