Reconciling Grief and Loss Through Bookmaking
Louis Lim & Beth Jackson
Abstract: Confronted by two separate traumatic events, Beth Jackson and Louis Lim have intertwined their parallel experiences of grief and loss through the process of creating an artist book.
Reflecting on investigative journalism, Leigh Sales states ‘that active contemplation correlates with growth, particularly writing or speaking about the trauma… Putting their feelings into words forces the person to clarify those feelings.’ The book, … there is no end, explores this sentiment, though not only for putting feelings into words, but also into images, textures and ultimately artwork, and not only for clarification but for revelation – the potential for finding new meanings. Using the creation of a book as a vessel, two people navigate and disseminate their grief through a non-linear journey.
The two-year-long joint meditation on grief involved Jackson and Lim sensitively searching, finding and folding together poems with photographic images and watercolour paintings. An unconventional book form was materialised with two separate narratives bound into one, suggesting a conversation in play – back and forth, across word and image, past and present, fluctuating textures, connecting voices, criss-crossing lives, revealing stories within stories, carried within. The work invites readers to touch and unravel the dialogue and reflect upon their own journey.
About: Louis Lim is a Brisbane-based visual artist and book-maker whose work explores the diversity in human conditions, specifically those that are under-represented in mainstream media. His work has been exhibited in several Australian galleries and presented internationally. Most recently, his work in collaboration with Beth Jackson, ‘… there is no end’ has been shortlisted in Singapore International Photography Festival Photo Book Showcase 2018, and 2018 Libris Award with acquisition by Artspace Mackay. He has also exhibited and showcased his artist books in Central Embassy Open House as part of the Photo Bangkok Festival, Reminders Photography Stronghold in Tokyo, Melbourne Art Book Fair, Tokyo Art Book Fair, and OBSCURA Festival of Photography in Penang, Malaysia.
Beth Jackson is an independent art curator and writer based in Brisbane. She established her art consultancy practice, Artfully, in 2012 with a specialist focus in curating art for the public realm. Her art writing has appeared in exhibition catalogues and journals such as Eyeline magazine.
…there is no end.