My Curiosity Overwhelmed My Trepidation

The title of this work is taken from a quote by Keith Cheng, when asked about his experiments isolating the color gene in zebra fish and the possible repercussions related to race and skin color. This series of prints, bound into an oversized book form, meld the language of the circus poster, both verbal and pictorial, with scientific events. The pages of this artist book represent a visual history of the way animals have been utilized and modified for scientific purposes. Innovations in science are some of the top stories in the news - just yesterday, scientists were creating copies of mammals, today they create new genetically altered animals, and tomorrow the unthinkable will be made real. The form of the circus poster, with its capacity to attract attention and exaggerate reality, displays and highlights today’s scientific curiosities. The original wooden block matrix has been repurposed as the cover of this unique artist book.

concertina binding with original wood printing blocks as covers, wood block print and letterpress posters with hand tinting in Acryla gouache, monoprint and rubber stamping, mounted to 2-ply black rag board and hinged with black linen tape, this is the only full set of prints, set 1/6 and can be found at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art in the Cynthia Sears Collection - individual prints are available in the shop, printed in 2006 and bound in 2015, 40” X 24” X 1 3/4”