A Conspiracy of Cartographers: A Series of Book Sculptures

Overview

The State Library of Victoria is a pretty magical place. There are huge regal reading rooms with towers of books as old and intricate as anything seen in Harry Potter, and at any one moment you can find hundreds of people feverishly studying, pouring themselves over heavy hardbacks. Now, making it even more interesting, you might also find the work of Nicholas Jones — a man who hacks into books instead of reading them.

At first glance Jones' work seems like the most amazing procrastination ever. I'm sure everyone has experienced so much frustration with a book that they've wanted to crumple all its pages up into an unintelligible mess. This is basically what Jones does, but with much more finesse and skill than most could ever fathom. A self-proclaimed 'book sculptor', Melbourne artist Nicholas Jones has been creating these unique and intricate works for a number of years now. This latest exhibition follows on from both a creative fellowship with the SLV and a natural interest in the "topographical contours and line-work present in maps". Each book he touches takes on a new form and with it a new meaning — a transformation of the ordinary to the extraordinary. Definitely worth checking out while on a study break.