Lauren Dudley ~Washington

In Captivity
By Lauren Dudley
Seattle: Lauren Dudley, 2003 - 2008. Edition of 8 variants.

10 x 9.75" closed; 8 pages. Nested accordion. Four double-page layered cutouts. Images derived from original painting via digital photography and printing. Colors in the first scene and frames for each scene vary from book to book. Landscape on the back of each accordion varies in color, mood, and creatures. Printed images collaged. Enhanced with hand painting using liquid acrylic. Image frames are Rives BFK painted with acrylic and shellacked. Housed in fabric bag with pocket for colophon pamphlet and drawstring closure.

Lauren Dudley: "The original painting was done when my husband, my daughter, one of our cats and I lived in a rented house for 5 months in 2003. Our home was undergoing a major renovation as a result of an infestation of toxic mold. Our four other cats and our two dogs were boarded; I went to visit them ''in captivity' once a week. As I hated the house we were living in, I, too, felt like I was in captivity. I had no access to my studio so used a spare bedroom in the rented house to paint each morning when I got up.

"Ultimately I decided that I wanted to turn the piece into an artists' book. ... As I've worked on the book version, the concept of being 'In Captivity' came to mean much more than living in the hated rented house or identifying with my boarded companion animals. When people look at this book, they see things that relate to their own experiences, each different. I like that."
$900 (Two copies available)