The Book: Alternate states

Abstract

There is some mixture of material and immaterial artefacts that the term 'book' references. Key among them would be the idea of a literary work contained in a physical object and a physical object that has a literary work contained in it. In this thesis, I explored the implications of these complementary notions, how they developed and where they stand in contemporary society. From there, I embarked on an artistic/practice-led research project of envisioning an alternate state of book—which I called BOOK to avoid confusion—and saw what possibilities of expression that could yield. The mission was to create a physical object that includes a work of literature as an integral part and make that the thesis submission, narrating its own process of making. I assumed that it would prove a fascinating artefact for storytelling in an age where the most intimate products are frigid receptacles for digital content. There is no strict conclusion to be made, but the project ends with a hopeful note on how publishers and writers could adopt this experimental method for producing new kinds of books relevant to modern times, and a node towards a more emotional approach to academic writing.