Double Bush Binding

Double Bush Binding in TokyoDouble Bush Binding in TokyoDouble Bush Binding in TokyoDouble Bush Binding

Curated by Sabine Piérard, Double Bush Binding was shown in Sydney, Forbes and Tokyo in 2006 and in Rheims, France at the Bibliothèque Carnegie and the Médiathèque Cathédral in early 2007.

Double Bush Binding featured a limited edition book of short stories by Paul Wenz, a French Australian author who lived near Forbes in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  The BEA edition was illustrated by Australian artists Daniel Pata, Michael Kempson and Rew Hanks and was printed on handmade paper from Euraba Paper Company of Boggabilla, NSW.

As the first significant bookbinding exhibition to be held in Australia for more than twenty years, Double Bush Binding took the book beyond story and image. It was a visual, tactile, collection of ideas bound together by the thread of a common narrative. Well known bookbinders from Australia, Europe, New Zealand and Japan were participants in this exhibition.

Bindings in the Double Bush Binding catalogue were photographed by Chris Chen.

Selected editions of Paul Wenz's work in English can be purchased from Nicholas Pounder Bookseller in Sydney.

A short video about the Double Bush Binding project can be seen on Joshua Lee's myspace site. The video was produced by BEA and filmed by Joshua Lee.

Double Bush Binding was supported by the Australian Government through a Visions of Australia Development Grant. Qantas Freight carried the books to Tokyo.

BEA

Left: Short Stories by Paul Wenz, published by BEA binding in dyed kangaroo leather. Sue Anderson, Australia — exhibited in Double Bush Binding, Sydney, Tokyo, Forbes, and Paris.

Bookbinding Exhibitions Australia Inc was a national organisation dedicated to promoting bookbinding as an art form. Between 2003 and 2008 BEA organised eleven exhibitions of contemporary binding, artists books and significant historical bindings.