Between the hard world and the empty void
In somewhere between the hard world and the empty void, a new video artist’s book by Rachel Simmons, the text—both handwritten and spoken— is interwoven with footage of one of the many public fountains in Basel, Switzerland in which swimming is allowed in water sourced from the nearby Rhein river. Through writing and drawings inspired by and adapted from Patterns in the Void: Why Nothing is Important by astronomer/author Sten F. Odenwald, Simmons explores Odenwald’s philosophical and scientific efforts to define the Void for his readers, while simultaneously expressing her sense of confusion and frustration about our limitations in seeking answers to unanswerable questions.
Originally created for the international group exhibition What colour will my skin be under the water, organized by the Edition/Basel residency in Basel in August 2024, somewhere between the hard world and the empty void, was also inspired by the artist’s physical exploration of the unknown through the cold, green expanse of the Rhein which she presents as a metaphor for the continuous flow of time, space and matter. Footage from inside the fountain runs underneath animated drawings, handwritten text, and Simmons’ reading.
Stills from somewhere between the hard world and the empty void, a video artist’s book by Rachel Simmons, 2024
An artist’s book in which the clips can be understood as animated pages, this video, though experimental, also employs familiar elements of Simmons’ book arts practice such as altering found text, asking big philosophical questions, and revealing aspects of the process in the final work. As her first video artist’s book, this project opens new opportunities for Simmons to expand her book arts practice through an exploration of time, sound and movement.
Here are some process images of the print and book projects I worked on during the Edition/Basel residency as well as documentation of the group exhibition.
I printed most of my work on this small platen press. In this video, I'm inking the press before printing.