Damaged Item Returned

2018

Chutespace. Installation. Canberra

A Library book is transformed into an Artwork when it is returned in a wilfully damaged state. With lines drawn systematically through print, the meaning of the text is obliterated. Following the defacement, pages are cut, joined, emerging in a chaotic tangle. With a twist on earlier exhibition, 245 |aObliterate I, 2016, Damaged Item Returned tests once more, society’s attachment to the printed word in libraries. A delicate confusion arises – “Damaged Item” or Artwork? – “Return Chute” or Gallery?