Talk: Clare Hewitt: Biodegradable photobook

Hear about Everything in the forest is the forest biodegradable photobook and how it travelled far and wide throughout the UK this summer.

Clare Hewitt will share lessons learnt from the ‘borrow and share’ scheme which after an open call saw 12 mini-books weaving their way to households and communities across the UK, from the Isle of Wight to Aberdeen. Sent from one person to the next, each exchange offered moments of reflection and connection.

Saturday 4 October, 12.30am to 1.15pm, as part of our programme of events.

Free event, donations welcome, suggested £3.

If you have any questions about the event or need help booking a place please email aGVsbG8gfCBpbXByZXNzaW9ucy1nYWxsZXJ5ICEgY29t or call 01274 737843.

Mindful of creating a book inspired by the behaviours she observed in the forest, Hewitt worked collaboratively with artists Carolyn Morton, Danielle Phelps and Alice Fox, alongside designer Emily Macaulay (Stanley James Press) to make Everything in the forest is the forest, a handmade biodegradable photobook. The small collection of books has been consciously produced using responsibly sourced natural materials, including fungi (mushroom) paper, oak gall ink and spun linen thread.

The book features collaborative text by international writers Kerri ní Dochartaigh, Marchelle Farrell and Jessica J. Lee, interweaved with oak leaf lumen prints*, some of which were created by people living near the trees during the Covid lockdowns. The others, made by Clare Hewitt, depict just a handful of over eight million leaves produced by the twelve oaks each year.

The photobook consists of twelve parts, each a self-contained ‘mini-book’ offering its own experience, while forming part of a connected whole. This modular format is inspired by the relationships found in the forest and has been conceived to enable the work to be shared more widely.

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Oak leaf lumen prints © Clare Hewitt.

Project conceived and developed by Clare Hewitt.

Botanical ink by Carolyn Morton.

Fungi paper and screen printing by Danielle Phelps.

Spun linen thread by Alice Fox.

Design and binding by Stanley James Press.

Book text © Kerri ní Dochartaigh © Marchelle Farrell © Jessica J Lee.

*An image made by placing an object on a piece of light-sensitive paper and exposing it to sunlight.

Everything in the forest is the forest photobook and the community-driven distribution was made possible by ACE project funding, with thanks to Impressions Gallery, GRAIN Projects, The Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR FACE), University of Birmingham, STEAMhouse, UWE Bristol, Stirchley Printworks, and a-n The Artists Information Company.

Also check out other Arts events in Bradford, Literary Art events in Bradford, Nonprofit events in Bradford.