They Wept
By Laurie Darby
Savannah, Georgia: Laurie Darby, 2024. Edition of 20.
3.5 x 3.75”; 11 folds creating 22 varied width pages. Tree fold structure. Letterpress printed at the Ashantilly Press Residency. Printed on Hapsach Cover paper in 12 pt Poliphilus. Text “The Songs of the Reaper”, a hymn by William A. Spencer 1886. Paper covered boards with titles on front cover. Marbled paper pastedowns. Signed and numbered by the artist.
Laurie Darby, Colophon: “In 1859, over 400 slaves were sold by the Butler Plantation Estate. This book is a reflection of the effect it has had on me, as a reverse migrant.”
Laurie Darby, artist statement: "’They Wept’ is an artist's book about the Weeping Time, the largest sale of slaves in Georgia history. This book was produced during a residency in Darien, Georgia at the Ashantilly Press located not far from Butler's Island where the people were enslaved. I became interested in the event when I learned that the auction took place not far from where I teach in Savannah, Georgia. It was interesting to me that the Butler family lived in Philadelphia where I was raised.
“The title, ‘They Wept’, is reminiscent of the Bible verse, John 11:35 ‘Jesus wept’ acknowledging empathy. Landscape of the region is evidenced in the color palette, during the auction there were heavy rains. I created marbleized insert pages to conceptualize this, the tree fold acknowledges the large live oaks of the region. Finally, I used a hymn from the 1860s in handset letter press to express mood and emotion." |
$250 |
