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Sunday, July 31, 2011

Mirror...a book full of intricate art

Yesterday we took the girls to the Ipswich Art Gallery to see Jeannie Baker's beautiful collages from her children’s book “Mirror”.



Jennie is an author and artist; her vibrant works tend to have few words but the detail in her collages is amazing. I tried to get up close and take pictures from different angles so you could get a taste of it's stunning beauty.


Mirror is a visual story that both contrasts and reveals the parallels in the everyday life of a boy in the city of Sydney and a boy in a remote Berber village in Morocco. The intricately-detailed collages on display present similarities (and differences) between the two cultures. While I loved her collages I didn't actually love the book... I thought I would, but there you go.









Most of her other books were there too so I read/looked at the lot. Many have a depressing 'we are destroying the world' inner message (which I really get, and we are, but I just didn't like the feel of them). I did quite like Belonging and Home in the Sky which broke the mould a bit.

 

The exhibition was accompanied by art-making activities and a reading corner so the girls, their dad, aunt and I absorbed ourselves in piles of textured paper, ribbons, pencils and sticky tape... The wee girl and I curled up and looked together at the pictures in her other books too.


The collection is making its way round bits of Australia; so if there is one near you maybe go have a look.

5 comments:

Rebecca said...

I'm jealous!
XX

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this! I would be keen to have a look. We have the rainforest one (but for the life of me I'm stumped as to the name... will remember it as soon as I post this) and the collages are so beautiful, I see something new every time I open the book.

I remember the window one from when I was young, but you're right, they are quite sad in a way.

Anonymous said...

Oh damn, we have missed the one in Melbourne! Too late!

Tania said...

Wow. Those are some amazing collages. I have obviously been living under a large rock.

anna said...

How beautiful and what a wonderful exhibition to have seen. Like the Mama - I'm jealous!