Books On Books Collection – Caren Florance

Books On Books

L OO P (2019)

A closed book with a black cover featuring minimal text and a gold spine, resting on a black surface.
A black art book with textured pages and minimalist white markings on the cover, partially opened to reveal a golden inner page.

L OO P (2019)
Caren Florance
Handset letterpress and mixed media on Stonehenge Black, Chinese papers and found maps. Hand-stitched Z-fold dos-à-dos booklet. H193 x W143 mm. [48] pages. Edition of 16, of which this is #13. Acquired from the artist, 1 December 2025.
Photos: Books On Books Collection. Displayed with artist’s permission.

L OO P is one to compare with Jack Oudyn’s Opening Dark Windows (2020) and Tim Mosely’s Grasping the Nettle (2020). All three of these Australian book artists create works responding to climate change. L OO P is also one to contrast with Barbara Beisinghoff’s Tau blau / Dew Blue (2013). Both thrust forward their works’ tactility, but while Beisinghoff’s offers the fond hope of natural and artistic renewal as it plays off H.C. Andersen’s fairy tale Hørren /The Flax, Florance’s embeds shards of John Bennett’s bird poem Overwintering in a back-to-back loop of despair over climate change.

The 26 numbered entries are fragments taken from ‘Overwintering’, 2018: 26 poems by John Bennett, used with permission from the author. Florance’s personal statement about the work is needed to appreciate L OO P fully.

L OO P is a book based on a poem about birds. There isn’t a bird in it. It is bereft of living things. There is a lot of frustration, fear and questioning. It is a book about the climate change emergency, pushing John Bennett’s quiet, polite worries into desperate territory. The books look battered because they are: the Chinese papers, pristine when I found them on a trip to Hangzhou, China, have been carried home in my luggage and through three house moves. They show their travel. Visiting China in 2015 shook me to the core. Hangzhou is a domestic tourist destination. It is the ‘Willow Pattern Plate’ city, full of lakes, pagodas and willows. In 2016, the year after I visited as an international tourist, Hangzhou received 136,958,500 domestic tourists. The air is thick with smog. Everyone has to drink from plastic bottles as the local water is undrinkable. There are electronic signs at every tourist attraction giving live updates about tourism crowding and air pollution. When I got home to Canberra, I almost kissed the ground gratefully: clear air, clean, drinkable water, wide open urban spaces interspersed with natural spaces. When I walk through a wide empty space, my retina still populates it with people. I have not used a plastic bottle since my trip, but while I recycle, reuse and try not to fly, I now feel like my efforts are worthless in the face of capitalist abuse of resources in the pursuit of profits and wealth. We say these things again and again: I am old enough to know how long we have been warned about climate change, and capitalism, but no-one pays attention. Things are going to loop and swirl until something major happens. I do not want to celebrate beauty. I want to weep in despair. L OO P is the result of this feeling.

Addendum, 2020: Summer 2020 was when I couldn’t kiss the Canberra ground anymore. Stuck inside my hot sealed flat, using a hand-made air purifier (none in the shops), having to wear a P2 mask whenever I went outside. My region was full of toxic smoke from the unprecedented ferocity of the NSW south coast and ACT bushfires. I had my emergency kit sitting by the door, and every day I checked about 5 apps to get the latest updates. L OO P now feels like a souvenir of this summer, even though it preceded it.

The way that Florance loops the paper collage effect into the opening and closing sequences of the “there” side echoes the “there here” title and the numerous loops configured in type within the core of the book.

A black page featuring abstract white line drawings and symbols arranged in a symmetrical pattern.

Opening sequence of “there”.

Open book spread featuring a yellow left page with a grey rectangle, and a right page with a black background, red and white shapes, and faint sketches.
An open book with mixed media pages featuring a grid pattern, yellow, red, and black textured sections.
An open artist's book featuring mixed media elements, including papers of various colors and textures, with visible text and handwritten notes on a dark background.

Closing sequence of “there”.

An open book displaying textured paper and printed text, with a combination of colors including yellow, beige, and red, emphasizing artistic presentation.

Opening poetry page from “there” side; Overwintering, 2018: 26 poems by John Bennett.

The same paper collage effect from the “there” side recurs with slight differences of shape on the “here” side of the dos-a-dos.

A black booklet with a minimal design, featuring the word 'loop' in a simple font, and the word 'here' written in white at the top right corner.

Opening sequence of “here” side.

An open book featuring pages with abstract textures and colors, including yellow, gray, red, and white elements against a black background.
An open book with yellow and black pages, featuring a patch of textured paper with a grid pattern on the left side and a bold red section on the right side.
An open book with a yellow page on the left and a black page on the right, featuring a red fabric or paper strip crossing over the pages. The right page has handwritten text dedicating the book to Phil Abbott, including his birth and death dates.

Closing sequence of “here” side.

An open book displaying two pages; the left page features layered textures in earthy colors, while the right page contains printed text arranged in a structured layout with minimalist design elements.

Opening page of poetry from “here” side; from Overwintering, 2018: 26 poems by John Bennett.

In both sides of the dos-à-dos and saying the same thing in a loop (“again and again and again …”), the typeset circle of words echoes the spacing of the title of the book, echoes the looping of its subtitle, and echoes its structure. Through the translucence of the Chinese paper, the typeset loop even echoes itself, underscoring the desperate cycle of environmental destruction.

A partially visible page from a book featuring faded text and circular text design, with phrases like 'again and again' and 'somebody's is about what you can't see.'

Deservedly for its fusion of material, text, structure, and emotion, L OO P won the 2021 Northern Beaches Libraries Acquisitions Award.

Other works by Florance in the Books On Books Collection include

prOn coktales: chapzine 1 (2007)

A folded chapbook titled 'Ampersand Duck - Chapzine 1' featuring a hand-set letterpress design. The cover includes bold, artistic lettering and a color scheme of white, orange, and black. It highlights phrases like 'Dear Friend, Believe Me, Every Word is True' along with details about the printing method and contact information.

prOn coktales: chapzine 1 (2007)
Sewn booklet. H220 x W135 mm. [8] pages. Edition of 100, of which this is #85. Acquired from the artist, 1 December 2025.
Photos: Books On Books Collection.

Open book displaying a notice that states 'This has won the lucky prize of the year!! 2007' with stylized typography.
An open book with artistic text on the pages, featuring yellow typography and abstract designs, alongside a wooden mannequin hand resting on the table.
An open book page displaying abstract text with artistic elements, including large, bold typography and a wooden hand placed on top.
An open book featuring abstract text in various sizes and styles, with a wooden hand holding the pages. The text appears to discuss concepts related to art and events, including terms like 'non-event offset' and 'security'.
Open book pages featuring text in varied fonts and sizes, with prominent phrases like 'WHAT IS' and 'DO YOU CARE' in orange, set against a white background.

redex by Owen Bullock, an arrangement by Caren Florance (2014)

A gray printed page featuring abstract text layout, with phrases scattered across the surface, creating a poetic and artistic feel. The text includes reflections on flight, clouds, and landscapes, suggesting themes of travel and observation.
A textured sheet of paper with scattered phrases and words related to concepts of perception, narrative, and communication, presented in a visually artistic layout.

redex by Owen Bullock, an arrangement by Caren Florance (2014)
Broadsheet printed on both sides, an inclusion for Parenthesis Journal 27 (2014). Acquired from the artist, 1 December 2025.
Photos: Books On Books Collection.

A page of printed text featuring a poem titled 'redex' by Owen Bullock, arranged by Caren Florance. The text appears creatively formatted, with elements like varying alignments and an abstract layout, set against a gray background.
A piece of textured paper with printed text, including phrases like 'try to relax' and 'sunset flight', arranged in a visually abstract manner.
A textured gray sheet of paper with printed text in various orientations, featuring phrases like 'sunset flight,' 'the wings glow red,' and 'looking for rubbish.'

TOUCH TO ACTIVATE: typewriter (2016)

A white sheet of paper with the text 'TOUCH TO ACTIVATE: typewriter' printed at the top and a series of dots along the right side. The lower right corner has partially typed text that appears to read 'tyrn...'.
A crumpled white page featuring a grid of circles printed in gray and a title at the bottom in red text, labeled 'Caren Florance 2016'.

TOUCH TO ACTIVATE: typewriter (2016)
Caren Florance
Single-sheet booklet. H210 x W150 mm, [8] pages. Acquired from the artist, 1 December 2025.
Photos: Books On Books Collection.

An open, blank book or magazine with minimalist design, featuring text on various pages like 'You are here', and 'We are sharing these spaces', alongside printed dots and shapes.
Close-up view of a folded piece of paper with embossed numbers and text that reads 'You are'.
A textured paper with a pattern of embossed dots and binary numbers (0s and 1s), accompanied by the phrase 'We are sharing these spaces' printed in red text at the bottom.

Further Reading

“Barbara Beisinghoff“. 6 February 2025. Books On Books Collection.

“Jacobus Oudyn (II)“. 3 November 2023. Books On Books Collection.

“Tim Mosely“. 23 August 2024. Books On Books Collection.

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