Ashna Jacob

The Wall, 2016

Artist book, silkscreen, digital printing, drafting film, rag paper

The breaking of bonds between people evokes loneliness and loss. Drawing text from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this artist book discusses the guilt of wilful separation and the resulting sense of longing from the space that we once occupied in the life of others.

The Wall juxtaposes short lines from the novel Frankenstein with images of a home, taken from the outside. The words and the images correlate to form a dialogue between two voices, of which one is implied to be the voice within the house, and the other, looking in. The perceived timidity of the ‘outsider’, the hesitation at the door, and the tempting light pouring from within the house emphasize the longing for contact between the two. 

Please wash your hands before handling the book. The pages are unbound, and for the best reading experience, lift the pages with both hands and stack them in the same order.