Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In Phil Shaw's practice, a bookshelf is a channel for potent messages, and a mirror that reflects the ironies of society. His distinctive bookshelf prints interrogate the changing place of the printed word in a digital age, and the transfer of meaning through intertextuality.
Embracing paradoxes and contradictions, Shaw uses archival printmaking techniques to produce painstaking images in which book titles�real and remixed�coincide in unanticipated ways to reveal truths that are at once humorous and poignant.
Shaw's digital bookshelf prints are, at first glance, charming achievements in trompe-l'oeil, yet a closer look reveals that they cast a cynical eye on culture, daily life, current events and the human condition. Combining rigorous research and creative playfulness, the images in this book demand a second look.
With extensive commentary by the artist and an autobiographical essay providing insight into Shaw's career as a polymath spanning art, music and scientific research, Phil Shaw: Shelf Obsession is a comprehensive and entertaining presentation of this groundbreaking British digital printmaker.