Book-Object-Art

Professor Phil Cleaver is an award-winning artist, author, and graphic designer whose personality was formed in the labyrinthine city of London, under the influence of (among other things) Punk, the Far East and some of the design industries most prominent and influential leaders. 

Book-Object-Art is a multi-dimensional exhibition showcasing a selection of Phil’s works.

For centuries, books have been a medium for documenting information in the form of writing or images. Although they are universally prized and respected as emblems of culture, books are everywhere, found abandoned and unread. 

Phil has spent many years collecting such found books and evocative ephemera from flea markets and vintage bookshops around the world. His works are made not by cutting it’s pages but by folding the pages of a book, often following the grid on each page, forming the works shape. The books become unreadable in a traditional sense and their initial text is transformed into an abstract arrangement of letterforms, through the folded pages. He uses collage and ephemera to tell a story to the viewer, often relating to the narrative of the chosen book. The exhibition contains 8 Malaysian books, all which were conceived, folded and made using ephemera collected in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang. 

These works bind images plucked from their contexts and tie them together to reveal new meanings. The images, holding a past of their own, seem to offer the experience of simultaneity through the layers they create. asking questions, provoking playfulness and wit. a playground of possibilities, the art of collage is unpredictable and seeks challenges, creating a stream of visual amalgamations. 

Art photographs by Angel Wong

Exhibition: Book-Object-Art 

7th - 29th Sept 2024

Saturdays & Sunday only 10:00am - 5:00pm

No registration necessary No entrance fee

Programming: 

Book-Object-Art 

Vivian Toh Interviews Phil Cleaver 

at temu house, 8 September 3pm 

No registration necessary No entrance fee