Gail's post of her book and introductory image.

Here, I'm putting the finishing touches on the interior of my book/box entitled the "Crocodile." The crocodile shape is made of leather and has been glued onto a magenta sheet of rice paper. The crocodile is the most fierce animal in the jungle, who has no predators. The Egyptians believed that the crocodile 
was the intercession into the spirit world, as it protected the spirit world from our world. It is also symbolic of adaptability, by the Akan people of Ghana. "Denkyem" is an Adinkra symbol that depicts a crocodile. It has its own proverb "The crocodile lives in the water, yet breaths the air"  which is the mantra through out this book. The crocodile is a recurring symbol in my work, as I believe adaptability is why and how my ancestors survived some of the most brutal atrocities known to man, yet we are still here! Somehow between adaptability and resilience they built America, produced the food and other agriculture products, developed ground breaking inventions, cleaned, cooked and fed black and white generations, while synthesizing all that hurt and pain into creating what we now know as American culture, through the arts all inclusive. It's an incredible and important American story, purposely omitted and almost obliterated from American History for more than 400 years. We must retrieve our History! 
  


This is the cover of my book, with another leather crocodile shape that over hangs the edge. It is poised to be the intercessor or protector of all the wonderful images that will be produced inside this nine month book exchange journey. Coincidentally and Ironically, that is the same amount of time it takes to birth a child. Again, I've introduced  a magenta strip to unite the interior with the exterior. The book was created to be viewed horizontally and after all the images have been completed I will connect them so that the pages can be pulled up out of the book and still be connected as one long sheet. On the back of each artwork created  is a letterpress printed phrase " The Crocodile lives in water yet breathes in the air".The front and the back of the images will alternate, so that you will see the phrase on one page and the next page will have an images and so forth and so on, which will allow images to be seen intermittently on both sides of the pages.


My Introductory image starts with a poem by Paul Laurene Dunbar entitled "We wear the Mask". The transparent image superimposed over the poem is a gel medium duplication of one of a series of mask drawings inspired by either mask I own, the African museum, or from research. The focal point of the drawings were actual observational drawing. As an artist I often go back to my first love "drawing". The poem spoke to me because I truly believe that the mask my ancestors had to wear here in America was a defense mechanism which became a survival tactic.  The mask left one with just enough pride and dignity to circumvent the humiliation and degradation that had to be endured on a daily basis. It also served as a vehicle of hope in order to get through the present, so that one day the future might be better. I'm sure this masking technique helped to get through the day, however, the long term effects that masking produced reeked havoc internally, creating high blood pressure, heart trauma and many other aliments that were never addressed, which then was inherited to the next generation. I do believe that trauma can be inherited, based on the book "Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome" by Joy DeGruy, where she delves into how and why it happens. Even through out my own career, while working in white America I've  had to wear that same mask to get from point A to point B. The wearing of mask in our History can also be attributed to the creation of American culture as we know it today. What we couldn't show on our faces poured out in our music, dance, poetry, visual art, etc. Creative expression was our saving grace, as it fulfilled two important task... it produced an outlet, preventing one from imploding and It created a vehicle by which we were able to hold on tight to our connections to our home land. 


The book opens horizontally and for now each artist's page is separate. Once all images are completed and the book comes back to me I will connect all of the pages as they are designed to be seen from both sides.


OOPS!....... This book might look different in the future, as it has been interrupted and declared missing during the mailing process. I may not be able to find the same rice papers, however, the basic concept of the book will remain the same. Until the book gets reproduced you may only receive a sheet of paper in order to continue the process and once the book gets made again then it will be sent out to the next artist in the rotation. Stay tune, to be continued.
Gail

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