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(Campbell, Ken) Tilt: The Black-Flagged Streets. 1988. 56p. 12″ x 9″ at its widest point. Found lino and handmade zinc blocks with metallic dusting and handwork. Paper bound in a trapezoidal shape over boards; masonry design; black cloth spine. No. 20 in an edition of 80 copies, signed by the artist. Fine.

“Tilt: the black-flagged streets, housed in its crooked slipcase, provokes unease. Using mounting blocks to represent both paving flags and the anarchist emblem, Campbell structures the left-hand pages as he adds, line by line, to his ‘Storm Song’ which moves through the book. The figure of Shiva, mysterious God from Indian mythology, changes as the verse unwinds and the balance of force alters. The poem begins with undertones of mob unrest but the song is taken up by the lhalcyon (kingfisher) fabled to nest on the sea and to have the power to quiet its turbulence.” – Cathy Courtney, Art Monthly, November 1988.

This work was included in an exhibition, Ken Campbell: an Artist’s Books, at the National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum in 1989 (No 8).

Related items: Catalogue 37 - Summer 2009, Ken Campbell