Fragments
The concept of ‘Fragments’ evolved out of my fascination for a tiny fragment of bracelet which was one of many extraordinary things excavated from the Bronze Age burial cist (circa 1730 to 1600 cal BC), on White Horse Hill, Dartmoor in 2011. The artefact is braided with 13 double strands of cow hair. This has provided a rich metaphor for the construction of the book which includes 13 etchings, 13 double strands of text with 13 syllables in each line, and a fragment of 13 double strand wire braiding.
The burial cist, in which the artefacts were found, was constructed with six granite slabs: a base, four upended sides and a cap stone set above. Hence the blue card folder has a base, four sides and cover.
For detailed information on the ‘Whitehorse Hill’ excavation, the publication ‘Preserved in the Peat’ (Jones 2022) provides the narrative of the cist’s discovery. The prehistoric armlet is archived in the Box Museum, Plymouth.
Materials:
Copper plates for the 13 etchings Hahnemühle paper for etching prints. Card folder. [G.F.Smith ’Power Blue’ 300 gsm]. Copper wire braids Jute string tie. Fragment of shaped sheep bone. Tracing paper [100 g/m] Archival interleaving tissue sheets. Off white cartridge paper [160 gsm]
Structure:
Fragments is a book in loose leaf form. Each book has 13 limited edition etchings. The etchings are inked, and wiped by hand. Edition numbers 1-13 of the book include a copper etching plate. Edition numbers 14-26 are the same but without the copper plate. The overall book size is 22 x 14.5 cm The etching images are 10 x 7.5 cm The making process is recorded with photographs in my Blog post : https://www.francesstaniforthartist.com/2023/10/14/fragments-artist-book-2023/ I visited different locations on Dartmoor taking a copper plate with me to create random marks on the surface of the granite rocks. The text and etching were composed in tandem as I walked amongst the prehistoric remains.
