My earliest encounters and interest in books dates from my childhood in my home city, Hyderabad, India. My father with his large ‘Medical Books’, incomprehensible to me, and mother reading in Arabic script beautifully printed in gold and blue.
Later at the Birmingham College of Art (1969-72), I encountered some fascinating Japanese and Chinese printed books. This was a treasure, and I thought that perhaps previously one of the librarians must have been a keen Orientalist. Hence the selection of unusual books from the East.
However, this keen interest in books was further advanced during my studies for an MA at the Royal College of Art. Such a wide range of books on various topics and themes. What an interesting Library. Art Books were naturally the dominant categories. I immersed myself for hours, exploring and searching through numerous shelves in the library for something new to explore. In my final year at the RCA I encountered books on Dante’s ‘The Divine Comedy’, the theme of which was familiar to me through my cultural heritage.
Development as an Artist: During my second year at Birmingham College of Art, I purchased a rapidograph pen.
I submitted six small works on paper for the ‘Young Contemporaries Competition’ for students, which was held at the Royal Academy, London, in 1971. These works were not only accepted for the exhibition but most importantly, someone who found them interesting made me an offer which was lower than my low asking price.
I gladly accepted this offer, which afforded me further opportunities to purchase more of these rapidograph pens of varying thicknesses (0.1 – 0.9).
This priceless material (pens) provided me with the means to pursue my visual inclination with zeal, even though I cannot honestly say what I was doing at that time.
Work on Dante’s Inferno: In my final year at the Royal College of Art, I realised that the visual ideas that were emanating from within me were dependent on personal perceptions, experiences and values which were satisfying. However this was limiting, and I felt I had to explore other avenues.
I came upon Dante’s ‘The Divine Comedy’ translated by Dorothy L Sayer. Having read and re-read several times the first Canto’s, slowly I began to appreciate and comprehend the basic elements of the poem – ‘Inferno’. Heaven and Hell are prominent themes in my and in all religious beliefs, and these themes naturally interested me.
In my readings at the Royal College of Art, I came across a fascinating book by Arabic Scholar and Professor at the University of Madrid, Miguel Asin Palacious, called ‘Islam and The Divine Comedy’. He has shown that this early Islamic story, Miraj, played an important role on Dante’s ‘The Divine Comedy’. My cultural heritage and the phenomenal intellectual literature of Dante’s Europe led me to begin work on Dante’s Inferno (1974 – 1975). In my final year at the Royal College of Art, 1975, I began to work on a series of etchings, which were hand painted, based on the first few Canto’s. Moreover, these were collated into manuscript books, titled and subtitled pages – illustrated as above.
Artist Statement: Manuscript Books as a Creative Medium
Having completed a series of three books on ‘Inferno’, individually hand-coloured etchings, I turned my attention to the design and production of unique books. Initially I began to work on books bought in London but made in Pondicherry, India. Cloth patterned covers and hand-made paper with engrained rose petals on each page. The following books are examples.
Invocations (Contemplation) –I based this book on my cultural heritage of Quranic script – Allah.
Caressing with the Constellations (Sensuality) – this book is a celebration of human life with particular reference to the female form. The crucial element is ‘Pregnant Space’, which is normally referred to as negative space. (Statement on Pregnant Space in preparation.)
Geometry without Gravity (Human Intellect) – see the Artist Statement. Based on my keen interest in space travel by the superpowers, USA and USSR (Russia). The concept of space without gravity was inspired by the above countries as they explored space.
But this did not satisfy my curiosity in the size and format of books. And hence I turned my attention to design each individual book, of varying irregular shapes and size. This concept (questioning format) materialised from my original works on paper on Dante’s Inferno. These three books unravelled in time within me, the heartbeat of inspiration which was in reality one of Contemplation, Sensuality and Human Intellect.
During this process, subconsciously I began to formulate the concept of a unique book – ‘Books without Boundaries’ (see Artist statement).
The original format and size of these varied shaped books would have no front or back. Indeed they can be viewed from any angle. Initially I designed and produced my own small books in India. My first small manuscript book had quotations taken from my readings, including poetry and literature. The medium I use consists of watercolour, gouache paints, silver and gold leaf. Another important exhibition at the British Museum, ‘The Art of the Book in India’, 1982, highlighted books in the shape of musical instruments, beads necklace (each bead consisted of at least ten pages), tortoise, etc. This exhibition was a profound experience for me to contemplate.
Large books: during my travels in India, a country with a rich tradition of manuscript books, dating back several centuries, I encountered an original manuscript book in a series of thirty volumes. A magnificent set, as shown below, created by one individual, and which captured my imagination.
This memorable vision stayed with me. Hence my work on large books from 3 feet by 6 feet / 91 cm by 182 cm (when open) through to my current monumental book/s (5 feet by 8 feet / 152 cm by 244 cm, when open), in which I am exploring ‘Colour as Content’ as one of the themes in these large book/s.
Dante’s Inferno. Manuscript pages with unique hand-painted etchings, circa 1975 – 1977
Pages from the manuscript book, ‘Invocations’
Pages from the manuscript book, ‘Caressing with the Constellations’
Pages from the manuscript book, ‘Geometry without Gravity’
Slip cover and double page from the only printed book – 2010
‘Symphony of Shapes’ – book and slip cover
Double pages from ‘Symphony of Shapes’
‘Mazes of the Mind’ (slip cover and open book)
‘Manuscript Book / Quran’ – 5 feet by 4 feet. One of ‘Thirty Volumes’
‘Palaces within the Planets’
‘Palaces within the Planets’ – 152cm by 244cm (when open)
‘Palaces within the Planets’ – detail
My interest continues as I explore other possibilities with these large monumental manuscript books…
Syed Saleem Arif Quadri MBE, MA (RCA) Artist / Curator London, UK
