Emily Lazerwitz
The Romance of Canterbury Cathedral, 2020
Redacted book - found book, Sharpie
13 x 19 x 2 cm
Unique
$1,917
Redacted books are an integral part of Emily Lazerwitz’s practice. Art and patterns intersect with each other.
‘The Romance of Canterbury Cathedral” is the first book from the collection of over 20 random books that Emily Lazerwitz received at the start of lockdown that she chose to read. Originally written in 1932, this edition from 1945 includes a great introduction about the beginnings of World War II. It also discusses the uncertainty that then led to. For Emily, this seems apt for the time and she is drawn to the sense of spirituality and anticipation. The book also references aspects of the artist’s own history. She went to a Cathedral School and finds comfort in the history of Churches and cathedrals.
The act of redacting ‘The Romance of Canterbury Cathedral’ took Emily Lazerwitz two weeks. She made a film during the process, which presents careful documentation of each page, both before and after the redaction, and is a unique record of her act of redacting the whole book and the sense of time of the process. For her, the act of redacting it is like a ritual. Equally, for Emily, reading something familiar in another time of turmoil, and importantly reading about something that survived that turmoil, feels right.
