Both but Between (2021)

Both but Between (2021)
Jana Sim
Cloth-covered boards, exposed binding. H149 x W114 5.8 mm. 17 handmade paper leaves; 16 OHP film leaves. Edition of 27, of which this is #14. Acquired from Vamp&Tramp, 15 July 2022.
Photos: Jana Sim (above) and Books On Books Collection (below). Displayed with artist’s permission.

Both but between is a bilingual abecedary. If punning in a foreign language indicates successful mastery of a non-native tongue, punning in that language and doing so materially with an artist’s book must indicate an altogether higher level and higher kind of mastery. Jana Sim demonstrates such mastery with an extraordinary use of letterpress printing and laser printing to underscore the “both but between” metaphor of her bicultural experience in this bilingual abecedary.

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