Book binding

I was commissioned by the Jujitus club I train to put together the syllabus into a book. The commission was to compile all the information of the syllabus together, organise it, arrange it, print it and then create a book, a manual. I haven't done this before, not with a textbook, anyway. I made a zine, but I have never stitched a book before.

It was challenging to work out how to do the layout in InDesign and then to work out how to create the sections and then print all the pages. I made the book using 4 signatures, stitched and glued together.

The process was interesting and captivating. I used a needle and thread to stitch the pages together. The repetitive movement of my hand to pass several times through the paper, the sound of the tread going through it and the lovely light falling on the working table were magnificent.

The smell of glue.

The sound of the press almost crushing the paper.

It's a lovely process. I will go back to it.

The cover I made it of black cardboard, and then I screen printed the logo of the club with white acrylic paint.

The book itself contains extreme aggressiveness to quote an exercise for the first belt white-with-red-stripe:

"a). Radial Strike

Stance:             Left foot forward – Fighting Stance

Technique:       This is a short sharp strike to the opponent’s neck. Flick out your arm as if going past opponent’s neck and at the last minute bring it in to strike the neck, just under the ear. If done hard and fast it can immobilize the opponent. Keep non striking hand raised for protection.

Teaching Point: This is a short and sharp strike, NOT a big swing."

During a martial arts practice session, my training partner executed the above technique with slightly more force than intended, leading to a concussion. It was a horrible experience.

Interestingly, stitching the book was a very peaceful exercise in contrast of the book content.

Reflectig It makes me think of the book: Holy Bible (Second printing) Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin. The artists overlayed images from The Archive of Modern Conflict (a visual documentation of violence, calamity, and absurdity) onto each page of the Bible. Their goal was to explore themes related to authorship and the criteria used to determine acceptable evidence of conflict. They wanted to make the viewer think about how power structures and catastrophe are portrayed in both ancient texts and modern systems of governance.

In the process of making the book, as mistakes were made, I have another 2 copies. Inspired by the above work, I want to find a way of creating an art piece out of one of the copies made. I am totally against any form of violence, but I practice Martial Arts to help with my mental health. It's hypocritical in a sense. To justify it, I learned to control my movements so I do not hurt my partners, even though it still happens sometimes. But the fact we are both there signals an acceptance of that occurrence. The aim is not to hurt but to release any form of frustration that builds within me in a controlled manner without hurting or causing any damage.

I need to think and research more about how to transform one of the copies into an art piece resembling the paradox that the violence of it fuels my calm on one hand, and on the other, to link it to some contextual theory.