grasping the nettle

Abstract

This artists book extends the studio research of the artist into the micro haptic perception of printed matter through the employment of pulp printing as a device that actively engages and sustains the attention of the viewer/reader. It is an outcome of an ASP project undertaken July to November 2020.

In her 2008 article “The Attraction of Print: Notes on the Surface of the (Art) Print”, scholar and artists Dr Ruth Pelzer-Montada introduced the term and concept of micro haptic perception to the related discourse. “grasping the nettle” is one of a series of artists books collectively titled representation through touch by Mosely. This series continues his investigation into the employment of touch to convey content to the viewer/reader in response to the occularcentric bias in the reception and evaluation of works of art. “grasping the nettle” introduces an ambiguity to the micro haptic perception of prints. This is accomplished through a diverse application of pulp printing that engages the perceptual operational relationship between the optical and the tactile. An insoluble tension is achieved between the tactile evidence that does not confirm the optical reading of texture. The ambiguity and the senses of touch sustain a haptic reading of the work.

Published in a variable edition of 8 copies “grasping the nettle” was the subject of a conference paper in 2020 and an article published in 2021, was selected for the nationally recognised 2021 Manly Artists Book Award Exhibition, and has been acquired for two internationally recognised artists book collections, The Neil Crawford Artists Book Collection, London, UK, and Bibliotheca Liborum Apud Artificem, Sydney, Australia.