JULIE COCKBURN
Stickybeak
Published by Chose Commune, 2019
Book size 21 x 30 cm
Pages 88 pages
Hardcover
Language French and English
ISBN: 979-10-96383-14-6
©Andreas B Krueger
“Stickybeak” is Julie Cockburn’s first comprehensive monograph.
The book coincides with Cockburn's solo show “Telling it slant” at Flowers Gallery in London, UK (12 September-2 November 2019)
We are all stickybeaks to some extent. Many of my fictional heroes and heroines spend their time sleuthing or, at the very least, nosing around in other people's business; Miss Marple, Lieutenant Columbo, Margo Leadbetter. There are even tales of espionage in my not so distant family history. Anyone with a social media account engages in a bit of stickybeakery – it's human nature to be inquisitive.
The works in this book were made over a period of twelve years, some one-off experiments, others part of ongoing series that I add to over time. Each piece began with the search for the perfect image, setting some vaguely rigorous parameters for myself. I selected used postcards, old photographs, foxed bookplates and my own childhood drawings. And each of these foundlings had a different history, an unknown or story forgotten to tell. By submitting to my interventions, they transformed from silent, redundant, orphans into material objects with a regenerated heartbeat.
I see this book as a continuation of that process. The publishers rooted through the hundreds of images in my archive in the same way I sift through pages of online marketplaces or the jumbled tables at car boot fairs. My industrious hand embroidery and intricate collages are given a light touch here, the sequence of the images alluding to a gentle, humorous narrative. We will all read it differently, pausing on those pieces that speak the loudest to us, in our own preferred language. But broadly, this whittled selection, our chosen game of consequences, investigates how we see ourselves and each other, and the multi-layered ambiguity of life.
Julie Cockburn
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“Stickybeak” is Julie Cockburn’s first in-depth monograph.
The publication coincides with the solo exhibition “Telling it slant” at Flowers Gallery in London, UK (12 September-2 November 2019)
"We are all curious to some degree. Most of my fictional heroes and heroines spend their time investigating, or at least meddling in, other people's affairs; Miss Marple, Lieutenant Columbo, Margo Leadbetter. There are even stories of espionage in my recent family history. Someone on social media is always doing some digging - it's human nature to be indiscreet.
The works in this book were created over a period of twelve years, some are unique experiments, others are part of ongoing series that I complete over time. Each creation began with the quest for the perfect image, for which I imposed vaguely demanding parameters on myself. I selected written postcards, old photographs, damaged bookplates and some of my own childhood drawings. Each of these finds has a different story to tell, unknown or forgotten. Through my action, these once silent, superfluous and orphaned objects find a living heart.
I see this book as a continuation of this approach. The editors have drawn on the hundreds of images in my archives in the same way that I have scoured the pages of online sales sites or run through the disordered stands of flea markets. Here, it is a spotlight on my assiduous work of hand embroidery and complex collages, the succession of images evoking a story of humor and tenderness. We will all read it differently, stopping at the elements that speak to us the most, in the language that suits us best. But overall, this reduced selection, a sort of chosen exquisite corpse, explores how we perceive ourselves, how we perceive others, and the multi-layered ambiguity that is that of life."
Julie Cockburn