I sometimes make little handmade books in limited editions, where the binding is simply my sewing machine zipping down the centre, or they’re folded, acordian-style, and tied with a ribbon, like this one below. Many of my stories have no words – they’re simply cartoon images expressing an idea.
Sightseeing Seagull 2005 (Click to enlarge)
“Sightseeing Seagull” (2005) is a never-ending story in the round, inspired by a warning I was given when I arrived at the Falmouth College of Art. Everyone told me to watch out for seagulls – they might steal my lunch.
While eating on the beach one day, I imagined a baby floating in a rubber ring, happily munching his chips from a bag. Suddenly, a seagull swoops down to grab his bag, but the baby won’t let go. He’s lifted way into the air for an unexpected sightseeing tour of the harbour. Finally the seagull manages to extract a chip and – plonk! splash!- the baby lands safely back in his rubber ring.
I ran back to the studio and made a long silkscreen of the images in my head, then glued it end-to-end. The result is a story that never ends. The luckless baby just keeps getting picked up and dropped over and over, poor thing.
This is what it looks like in the round
Plum Johnson 