Design Challenge and Design Ideas

This is the first artists’ book to be commissioned by the National Gallery of Ireland. We were invited to create work in response to the Gallery’s archives of artists who lived through the social and political developments commemorated by Ireland’s Decade of Centenaries. The challenge was to design a bookwork that would command the full display space available; two very large vitrines.

How the brief was fulfilled

Originating from research into the art, lives and ideals of six Irish artists – Grace Gifford, Sarah Cecilia Harrison, Aloysius O’Kelly, William Orpen, Sarah Purser and Jack B. Yeats – Memento Civitatem explores our contemporary relationship to culture, citizenship, imagination and activism. Inspired by the Tarot card, a medium open to diverse and contradictory readings, the book presents twenty-one iconic image cards alongside words and phrases that are open to interpretation. Through the hand-set typography and an intuitive approach to image-making, Memento Civitatem is an ode to some of the artistic practices and the letterpress production processes of the period. The book became 25 bifolium sheets housed in a box, opening to become fully exhibitable.

Designed and letterpress printed by Jamie Murphy with studio assistance from Louis Scully and Ellen Martin-Friel. The bulk of the type is hand-composed in varying weights and sizes of early 20th century English woodletter produced by DeLittle, Stephenson Blake and Day & Collins, etc. The 14 and 24 point Méridien was designed by Adrian Frutiger and released in 1957 by Deberny & Peignot, Paris. Alice Maher’s twenty one divination cards were first drawn in pen and ink by the artist, then scanned and printed from relief plates, and finally hand-coloured. The papers used in the edition are 280gsm Somerset Newsprint. The boxes were executed by Tom Duffy and family. Printed in an edition of 46 books. Intended for display, the copy marked A is for the National Gallery of Ireland who have commissioned the work. It is housed in an orange cloth covered solander box. Copies B, C, D, E and F are reserved for the collaborators and are presented in a tan cloth covered solander box. Each of these copies has been printed on the Somerset paper. Released by The Salvage Press, copies numbered 1 – 40 have been printed on 300gsm Gmund Cotton and are housed in a red cloth covered solander box.