Mariken Wessels – Taking off. Henry my Neighbor

Book coverMariken Wessels – Taking off. Henry my Neighbor
Book coverMariken Wessels – Taking off. Henry my Neighbor
Book coverMariken Wessels – Taking off. Henry my Neighbor
Book coverMariken Wessels – Taking off. Henry my Neighbor

 ‘A very exciting book with plenty of body’ – and that’s not just about the sultry and explicit content, the panel assured each other in chorus. For Taking off. Henry my Neighbor artist Mariken Wessels went to work on the private archive of ‘Henry’ in the United States and found herself immersed in areas such as shame and guilt. The weird and wonderful story behind Taking off. Henry my Neighbor has to do with a doomed marriage, sexually obsessive behaviour and creative madness.

An extraordinary collection of photos and cut-out collages culminated in a ‘vertigo of amateur nude art’. For a number of years Henry photographed his wife Martha in all sorts of nude poses until in a fit of rage she threw the collection out of the window. Is Henry a maniac? A psychopath? Wessels breathes highly intense life into the monomania of his photos, sometimes even with a rosy glow. On the basis of the same material we find ourselves entering very diverse spheres, sometimes set apart by a number of blank pages or a fold-out photo. The inventive collages and the methods used to manipulate the images guarantee a visual experience without equal; at times it’s as if we’re standing watching from behind the curtains. Time and again Wessels deliberately sends us off in the wrong direction, pushing us into the uncomfortable role of voyeur in the front row, in these shadowy regions between the public domain and the private.

Mariken Wessels has found the key to the order and gives shape to an anonymous artistic process. This culminates in a powerful book in which Henry’s sculptures – now in colour – strike an extra strong final chord. Already under its belt is an honourable mention at Best Book Design from all over the World in Leipzig.

 

 

Honorary appreciation Best Book Design from all over the World, Leipzig 2016

Edition: 2015
Language: English, translated by Taco Hidde Bakker
Final editor: Taco Hidde Bakker
Publisher: Art Paper Editions, Ghent (BE)
Graphic designer: Mariken Wessels, Amsterdam, Jurgen Maelfeyt, Ghent (BE) with photographs by Henry, Gary Alsdorf, Edward F. Caroll, Mariken Wessels
Printer: Die Keure, Bruges (BE)
Binder: Hexspoor, Boxtel
Size book block (w x h x d in mm): 240 x 330 x 23
Number of pages: 300 p.
Print run: 1,000
Price: € 55
ISBN: 978 94 90 800 34 5
Font and foundry: Swiss (Bitstream)
Binding style: sewn Otabind with flaps, interior with several fold-outs, loose insert
Material: 150gsm Munken Lynx, 115gsm Luxo Magic (interior), 300gsm Munken Lynx (cover)