This book is one I started awhile back when a woman with a famous boyfriend had been severely physically abused and she went back to him. It was on the news and all the talk shows for days. Many people were worried for her safety and wondered how she could forgive him and go back for more. Hearing it over and over again bothered me so much that I awoke at 2 in the morning with the poison bottle concept clearly in my mind. I originally planned to take clear capsules and put poisonous words ( jealousy, hate, envy, lust, anger, rage, abuse, etc.) inside them, then put a cap on the bottle and put the message - do not remove on the lid. I ended up typing the words and glueing them to Bayer Aspirin with Calcium for Women tablets. If any of you have tried to swallow them - good luck. They are huge!
Once I had the pills in the bottle, I thought it looked so small and insignificant - it would not show well. How could it be exhibited? I thought of putting it into a box, or into an assemblage - but then it struck me that it could fit into a niche in a book. Not a little book because it's a big message I wanted to put out there. So, I picked the largest book I could find that I had read and didn't care to read again.
One of the artists at the Bay Area Book Jam last year exhibited a powerful small book with strong images and the Miranda Rights warning for the text. That inspired me to want to include these words in this piece.
Usually my books have many spreads. I have a hard time editing myself. But this time, the bottle is the focus so it has only the one spread and the niche. The message is strong and clear. It doesn't need anything else. BTW the red piece on the right page at the top, is from a McDonald's bag. You never know where you will find the right piece to set off your pages. I hope to exhibit this in the Fall at a local art show. Please let me know what you think of it.
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