In normal light, this limited edition artists’ book appears to be empty—a handmade journal filled with blank pages. When viewed under black light, however, the book’s hidden content is revealed. Designs and text appear, and the book spills out its contents: unspoken secrets shared by hundreds of complete strangers in this site.
This book was inspired by the idea that people would welcome the opportunity to unburden themselves anonymously in a setting that, like their true feelings, only divulges its secrets in solitude and in the stillness of the dark.
Each page silkscreened by hand in specially-formulated, archival, invisible ink on French 100% cotton rag and neutral-PH Rives BFK. The book includes a handheld black light which allows the printed content to be seen.
Handbound, 80 pages, book and cloth-covered box Edition of 30
Secrets, the first book in the Invisible Book series, can be viewed in the SFMOMA library, The New York Public Library, UCLA Special Collections library and at the Savannah College of Art & Design amongst others.
The invisible book series seeks to create an artistic expression of what is unseen and unsaid but palpable and ever-present in our lives.
We all carry with us the regret of amends unmade. Apologies never spoken, both trivial and weighty, rest on the tip of our tongue. But the right moment passes, the chance is lost, and the words remain unspoken.
Make amends!—Take part in a collaborative art project to create a book of apologies—The second in a series of books with secret text, revealed only under black light.
Have you ever let someone down? Left a promise unfulfilled? Broken a vow? Stepped on a toe? Nothing is more frustrating than being unable to apologize for the wrongs you've done someone else—intentional or accidental, big or small. Now's your chance to make an apology and banish regret.
Your apologies may find their way into the second Invisible Book. In normal light this beautiful handmade book will be filled with apparently blank pages, but hidden on the pages will be apologies that you share here.
All contributions will remain absolutely anonymous; no one will be able to tell who wrote what. No personal information is requested.
The finished book, Apologies, will be shown in San Francisco. Details to be posted in this site at a later date. Because of space limitations, some submissions may not make it into the final book.