[North Vitzroy, Victoria, Australia]: Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison, 2016. Number 7 of 10 copies. This is a fascinating and particularly inventive book from these two talented and committed book artists. They state: "We have been collaborating for over twenty years, making artists’ books, zines, collages, prints, and drawings. Besotted still, it appears, with paper for its adaptable, foldable, cut-able, concealable, revealing nature, using an armoury of play, the poetic and familiar too, with the intention of luring you into our A(rtists’ books) to Z(ines).
Gracia & Louise: "’Because I Like You’ is based on the concept of a love letter to ten mammals. Each of the edition is housed in a black fabric Solander box with inlaid windows featuring one of the ten mammals enclosed. Each page has one mammal lemonwood block print portrait and one mirrored original collage of the portrayed mammal. The mammals featured range from a Greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) to a Sea otter (Enhydra lutris) by way of a Royal antelope (Neotragus pygmaeus) and a gruff Polar bear (Ursus maritimus).

"This artists’ book has been over a year in the making, based on a back and forth notion we have been toying with more and more (a collage in response to a print this time). The printed portrait shows nature, as intended (close to), and the collage shows the animal in different (and often less than ideal) surrounds. It is also our first book to feature woodblock prints."

Animals featured, in order of appearance:
Greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis)
Black-and-gold howler monkey (Alouatta caraya)
Rufous mouse lemur (Microcebus rufus)
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)
Royal antelope (Neotragus pygmaeus)
Californian sea lion (Zalophus californianus)
Snow leopard (Panthera uncia)
Greater stick-nest rat (Leporillus conditor)
Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris)

The Sea Otter Letter displays their creative take on these animals and the letters to them: “The loose patch of skin under your forearms serves as a pocket for rocks and other tools and it is primarily why I like you. I could be talking about a Sea otter (Enhydra lutris); I could be talking about you.”

The book is comprised of 11 loose leaves (1 title plus 10 with text and images). There are 10 individual woodblock engravings by Louise Jennison and 10 unique state collages with pencil and paint additions by Gracia Haby. Printed on Fabriano Artistico 640gsm traditional white hot-press paper. It is housed in a black linen Solander box with an inlaid print and collageon the top cover. Bound by Louise Jennison. In fine condition. Measures 5 x 8 inches. Unpaginated. ARTB/063025. Fine. More

[North Vitzroy, Victoria, Australia]: Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison, 2017. Hardcover. Number 4 of 6 copies numbered and initialed by the book artists. There was also one artist's proof.
This splendid book was the first in their Looped series. "The overall theme of this series seems to be our relationship to our environment, to nature, to the world at large. This first book in the series begins with a quote from “Kylling Kluk” (1823) by J. Mathia Thiele which is also the title of this first book – “I think all the world is falling.” We imagine Chicken Little from this fairy tale running around thinking the sky is falling because a nut hit him on the head. That was long ago, perhaps now we are creating the ‘nuts’ that are falling all around.There is a beautiful image of nature’s hands, or is it human hands that comes together when the boards are placed side by side. The interior of the accordion shows a bird’s eye view of the world - but is it up or down? Where there was water, there also was earth. And instead of the sound of birds calling, there was the white noise hum of standby power. It was familiar. Yet it was out of sorts. It was a left foot crammed into the right shoe."

They say further about their work: "The words of Gogol whisper in the ear, ‘the longer and more carefully we look at a funny story, the sadder it becomes.’ And so, we leave our scenes open-ended, inviting you to ponder and perhaps find that things are not always as they first appear.” The books in this series are meant to be read again and again, to be viewed again and again. For with each reading a new question or view comes to mind." Haby & Jenniso go on to say: " We have been collaborating for over twenty years, making artists’ books, zines, collages, prints, and drawings. Besotted still, it appears, with paper for its adaptable, foldable, cut-able, concealable, revealing nature, using an armoury of play, the poetic and familiar too, with the intention of luring you into our world. For us, above all, it is not the medium that is always of greatest import, but the message. And so, we use found imagery and acquired scenery in our artists’ books for what they can enable us to say, and what we hope you might in turn feel. Though, of course, what you feel is entirely up to you, and to this end we favour open endings above all. From the intimate to the epic in scale, you can see in our work what you will. You can make of our comprised scenarios what you will. You can see fragments of your very own self. You can see your own link with nature. You can see human nature reflected in the movements of the characters. You can see charm, absolute. Along the way, some people have seen our zines to be artists’ books, or our ‘this’ to be ‘that’, and as this is something beyond our control, we’re fine with that."

This work is done with a concertina structure and is inkjet printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm.
The colorful and artistic covers are mounted on gold-trimmed board. The book is housed in a printed slipcase on 225gsm Buffalo board. Covers and pages printed by Arten. Slipcase printed by Bambra Press. Bound by Louise Jennison. In fine condition. Measures 8 x 4.75 inches. Unpaginaged [8 pages] ARTB/063025. Fine. More