AUSTRALIAN POETRY, 2010–2011
Dear Dad
Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
Dear Dad collages, design and binding
2010–2011
Poems by Australians about Fathers
With contributions by Alan Brough, John Clarke, and Chris Wallace-Crabbe
Artwork/design by Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
We have made a hand-bound book of poems for and about Dads in collaboration with Australian Poetry and Relationships Australia.
First edition, 500 copies, 2010
Second edition, 1000 copies, 2011
In order of appearance, it includes the collages:
Mickey proved no Oily Bird but clever mouse and the scene it played as expected, at ten minutes to two.
Dashiell Hammett's Thin Man leads us neatly to the Grotto of Lacroma (where Richard the Lionheart found refuge).
Day and night, night and day, Robinson Crusoe proved an unfailing guide.
The gramophone crackled, the little pig swept, and the road it was lined with aloes.
An easy balance if you kept your focus fixed. (cover artwork)
All artwork was made especially for this project, and for our own Dads, Peter and John.
Poems featured in Dear Dad include:
Wo de Baba by Sally Chik (NSW)
Love Song by Jean Cornell (VIC)
Driving with my Father by Ross Gillett (VIC) Father’s Day by Mike Greenacre (WA)
Obvious: more things to do by Matt Hetherington (VIC)
In from the Garden by Andrew Lansdown (WA)
My Dad by Leonard Levien (VIC)
Art and Dad by Emily Manger (VIC)
Cold Wet Frozen by David Mortimer (SA)
Dad by Doreen Pascal-Murray (VIC)
Circular Fatherhood by Piero Nelva (VIC)
Parades by A.S. Patric (VIC)
Child by David Stavanger (QLD)
PJ by Vicki Thornton (VIC)
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Gracia & Louise Artwork
Hila Shachar
Desktop magazine: The Culture of Design
19th September, 2011
The Melbourne-based creative duo, Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison, have been designing and producing some original limited edition artists’ books, prints, zines, postcards, and other beautiful pieces. Called Gracia & Louise, their studio is based on their mutual fascination with the adaptable possibilities of the medium of paper. Gracia favours the process of collage-making, while Louise is adept at watercolour art and illustration.
At the heart of both their designs however is a whimsical approach that combines incongruous beings and worlds. Postcards written by animals, stars travelling across different landscapes, people interacting with inanimate objects, narratives of fantasy and fairy tale, far-off lands and adventurers. These are just a few of the things and beings that populate their art. What is particularly appealing about their work is the way that it combines a philosophy with their design focus: the animal. As they describe in their own words:
The animal is ever present and easily detectable, the centre of our paper stage. Hard to miss, over here and over there, the animal runs up hills, scales rooftops and passes through a scene new or more familiar. For us, the animal is there to question our very behaviour, those moral principles one governs the self by, and to explore the relationship with the natural world.
This is an approach they bring to their many projects, including their design and artwork for the recent book, Dear Dad, a collection of poems for and about Dads in collaboration with Australian Poetry and Relationships Australia. Alongside contributions by Alan Brough, John Clarke, and Chris Wallace-Crabbe, sit Gracia and Louise's carefully created collages, providing the perfect accompaniment to the touching words. The inquisitive and intelligent philosophy behind their focus on the figure of the animal can be felt in this book, with numerous layers of imagery acting as a form of sympathetic engagement with poems that explore our deepest relationships.
Whether small enough to hold in your palm, or large enough to hang on your wall, their art is lovingly created and beautifully conceived. Their work is available for purchase from their online store.
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