Spiabooks

This is an artist book that features the bullhorn acacia, a tree that I have know since my childhood. I began with this plant because of its symbiotic relationship with a species of ant. (Pseudomyrmex ferruginea) The realization that an animal could come to an agreement with a plant is one of my first memories and the beginning of my fascination with nature. Making a book raises your level of awareness about a subject. My process includes many initial in-situ studies, the research for the text, deciding on a binding structure, layout and execution of the drawings, and finally producing a limited edition. I chose this binding because it reflects the process of discovery of the plant. The book when folded follows a narrative sequence of the plant and the ants with detailed images on a two-page layout, but when the book is unfolded you see the big picture of and the variation of form in the thorns that occurs within this species, which is just as interesting as this bizarre contract between a plant and an insect.