Anne Rook

How did you become involved in artist’s books?

Some 20 years ago I met Bristol artist Annabel Other who had started a portable, fully functional public library. I made a small 

‘Pocket Dictionary of Greediness’ for her library and was fascinated by the concept of a small art work which could be picked up, leafed through and enjoyed at leisure and privately, away from the formal context of museum or gallery.

I have continued making artist’s books. These are often closely linked to my other multi media works. 

What is the focus of your practice?

Repetition of images, forms or marks underlies my practice. In the process of repetition, differences between the elements emerge, often creating an emergent property or meaning. And in the act of repeating time is experienced and its unwinding creates memories or suggests a narrative. 

What are you working on at the moment?

Recent and current books focus on the representations of journeys through simple marks or through the construction of maps. The tedium of long and unfamiliar journeys with the accompanying feelings of displacement and dislocation is made visible through repetitions.