Guy Begbie’s Architectural Bookworks

The University Library is delighted to have an exhibition of unique artists books by Guy Begbie. Guy describes his practice as “multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary.” The books demonstrate techniques including printmaking, drawing, painting, small scale casting, video media and bookbinding. Bookworks is displayed in the glass cabinet near the returns sorter in the atrium and in the display case on the first floor landing. The exhibition runs until the end of June (check with us before travelling). You can read more about Guy and see examples of his work on his website.

I first encountered Guy at a public lecture organised by the Illustration department. He introduced us to works based on the idea of dérive, walking in the landscape. His recent works are inspired by the landscape of the city and some of the works in our exhibition clearly reference architectural forms. There is a series of works, Architectural Bookworks, which include cast plaster, but others are paper-based; ‘containers’ for things and space which can be configured in multiple ways to suit the exhibtion space. At closer examination, you can see the intricacies of the construction, together with the carefully considered form of the display. The exhibtion took just under 5 hours to achieve its carefully curated form. I doubt if it will ever look the same when displayed elsewhere. It fits the constraints of our space well; an excellent lesson in adaptability for those who exhibit art work. It even leads you to some video works, for example, Orange Rumba – enjoy!