Claire Felicie, Daughters of the Sun, self-published, Netherlands, 2018, ed. 25

              This leporello gives an impression of my visits to Iraqi Kurdistan 

              in 2017-2018 and my encounters with female Peshmerga fighters. 

              In their hands they carry souvenirs of loved ones.       

                                                                             Claire Felicie

Each of this linen-bound leporello's 51 pages are thick boards with one black & white photograph featured in each pairing, these materials also combine to give this leporello some real weight coupled with its sturdy pages. There's almost a sculptural feel to the work which is combined with an intimacy that comes from Felicie's identification with the women, and in particular their roles as Pershmerga (to stand in front of death) fighters in Iraqi Kurdistan in their war against the Islamic State. 

Attached to the back of the leporello is a copy of a handwritten note in which Felicie goes into greater detail about how this book came about and she concludes writing about the female Pershmerga, "They felt like sisters to me. Because these women are first and foremost, like me, mothers, grand mothers. Powerful, resilient, protective. Full of the joy of life while bravely staring death in the face."

Felicie is a Dutch photographer who has done a number of interesting and varied photographic projects and they can been seen here on her website: Claire Felicie Photography | PROJECTS. Follow this link to a smart and in-depth look at this leporello written by Sabrina Mandanici: Claire Felicie, Daughters of the Sun | Collector Daily

51 single-sided pages, 5.75" x 4", when fully opened 17ft.

Club Zukunft, Events Calendar, Zurich, Switzerland, 2023

Here's a rather interesting use of the accordion format serving as an events calendar for upcoming musical events at Club Zukunft. This club is one of the premier experimental electronic music venues in Zurich, and with an attached bar that reportedly has the largest selection of beers in Zurich.

Thanks to Jürgen O. Olbrich of the No-Institute, Kassel, for passing this piece on to me.

5 double-sided pages, individually 3.75" X 6", and when fully open 1ft 10.5".

reverse with more detailed info on individual events

Box 2W/Set Z, 2013, and Box 2W/Set Y, 2012, 10 artists, B.ü.L.b. Comix, Geneva, 2012-13

                                                     Box 2W/Set Z, 2013

B.ü.L.b. is a cool "independent sequential art publishing house" that was founded in 1996 by Nicolas Robel with a DIY aesthetic and a political attitude. These two boxed collections, each containing 5 miniature accordion works by 5 international artists, are part of a larger print project in which a boxed collection was produced for each letter of the alphabet. This is a wonderful way of making available a large number of different artists' works in a unique and affordable format - bravo to B.ü.L.b.!

Other B.ü.L.b. productions, including larger printed editions and books can be viewed at their website: B.ü.Lb comix

Each accordion is 11 pages, double sided. Individual pages 1.75" x 1.25" and when fully open 1ft 1.75". Note: click on images for larger size.

Jockum Norstrom (S)

Yuichi Yokoyama (J)

Elvis Studio (CH)

Blexbolex (F)

Nicholay Baker (T)

_______________________________________________________________

Box 2W/Set Y, 2012

Charles Burns (USA)

It's Raining Elephants (CH)

Xavier Robel (CH)

Aisha Franz (D)

Mat Brinkman (USA)

Enrico Baj, BAJ: ebanisterie e mobili (cabinet making and furniture), Galleria Schwarz, Dec. 2, 1961 - January 12, 1962, Milan, 1962

I didn't really know what I was getting when I purchased this catalogue online, but what attracted me was its faux wooden cover. I knew Baj (1924-2003) as an Italian artist with an outsider aesthetic, who was also an anarchist and involved with the Milanese avant-garde of the mid-1950s. In 1951 he was the co-founder with Sergio Dangelo of the arte nucleare movement, whose aim was to make art in response to the nuclear age. Probably best known for his series of paintings titled Generals which were absurdist representations of generals and political figures whom he lampooned and critiqued with a vengeance.

This series of Furniture paintings were made from actual scraps of furniture and mimic period design pieces. The catalogue includes an interesting text in three languages by Octavio Paz entitled "The furniture-pieces of Enrico Bay". The Surrealist writer Andre Breton also wrote about these works stating that "...the 'period furniture' shows the extent to which the enemy is capable of infiltrating the comfort of our homes, our 'easy chairs' and 'lounges' which mold him and conceal him...What a flagrant invasion of our intimate existence!"

10 double-sided pages, individually 9" x 6.25" and when fully open 4ft 8.25"

reverse with Octavio Paz text

back cover with Alfred Jarry quote "I was a cabinet maker for a long time."

Furniture works in situ in a room in Baj's villa

Copyright Archivo Baj, Vergiate, 2017, photography by Filippo Armellin