# 38785

OPPEN, Monica

Of Property Of Nature (State B)

$1,500.00 AUD

Sydney : Ant Press, 2021. Artist’s book, 51 x 38 cms, screen printed boards, cloth spine, pp. [12], letterpress relief hand printed from wooden type and intaglio collagraph, housed in a folding clamshell box. Printed in two states, State A (in an edition of 7) and State B (in an edition of 5), making a total edition of 12 copies, the difference being the inversion of images between the different states. This is State B, edition 4/5.

“Dealing with environmental issues is core to my bookarts practise. The core images in this book are extras from the edition made for the Warringah Print Studio collaborative project Natural Collections, looking at endangered species in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney. The problems of species loss and habitat destruction are not specific to the Northern Beaches but Australia wide, world wide. In the text I draw the readers attention to the dire consequences of our actions as a cultural juggernaut. The work connects the local and the global. The title of the work comes from the two quotes, included on the title page, one from John Locke (philosopher) and the other from Bernard Campbell (anthropologist), quoted by David Suzuki (scientist). Written more than 300 years apart they highlight a shift in thinking needed in our relationship to the planet and connection with Nature.’ – the artist, Castlemaine Press website https://castlemainepress.com.au/common-ground-exhibition-exhibition/