Bookbinding workshop

 During the bookbinding workshop I made my sketchbook for the rest of the project. I made a a5 case-bound book that I covered in latex.

I used liquid latex, painted onto a sheet of parchment paper and then peeled off to work as a sheet to cover the book with, as you would use any normal piece of fabric.

It was a little challenging to use as it's a somewhat unpredictable material; after peeling off the parchment paper backing and covering the latex in talc to stop it sticking to itself, there was a lot of shrinkage, which made it challenging to cover the entire book, as the sheet I had measured and painted out was considerably smaller than I had planned for. With a little stretching this wasn't too much of an issue. 

I chose to work with liquid latex as I'd had quite a bit of experience with it in the past and I knew it could have a skin-like appearance, and for the body horror theme of my project, I thought it would be quite fitting.

Another aspect of liquid latex that I enjoy is how it changes over time; prior to taking these photos the cover was actually considerably paler, it has gradually darkened with exposure to the oils and moisture from being handled. Latex will also grandually degrade and break down with repeated handling; both of these aspects I really enjoy as I feel like it's again very fitting for my subject matter; it makes the book feel like a living, decaying organism.