In the dark papery heart of every good book is a story waiting to get out and flaunt its fictional or non-fictional stuff. Part of the magic of walking into a book shop is the thought of all those stories lurking there between covers waiting to be found. Seeing into those worlds through the pages is something done in an awe-inspiring and unconventional way by artist Brian Dettmer.
Brian 'book autopsies' entitled 'Adaptations' are sculptures made from real books cut so their pages form 3D worlds inside the pages. Each book is carefully carved with the outer pages and spine intact and looks as if the story were coming alive from the inside out.
The work consists of single pieces and cleverly constructed collections resembling book-bodied beasts and leatherbound merry-go-rounds.
I'm not sure I'd want one of my beloved tomes taken apart with clever cutting but the effect is utterly mesmerising. Magic.
