Bridget Elmer

We can go beyond it

Combining her interests in handmade books, libraries, information exchange and social justice, Bridget Elmer produces works of art that go beyond the book — literally.

Her thesis project, Fibre Libre mirrors the way open-source technology is developed. To make paper for the book, Elmer brought together 10 people who each contributed to its production. Similarly, she had participants adjust processing code to produce a variety of digital images for the book, demonstrating the fundamental ideas of collaboration and revision found in open-source technology.

Another project, We Can Go Beyond It, (pictured above) explores theories of neuroplasticity -- the assertion that the human brain is capable of changing itself. Comprised of various maps of brain activity, the book detaches into "links" that can then be manipulated by the handler: a physical manifestation of the way a person might dismantle and resolve destructive ways of thinking.

Read more: Bold Life Magazine 4/11: Books without Borders

Elmer will perform a collaborative piece involving her printing press and artists R. Brooke Priddy, Matt Schnable and Nathanael Roney at the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center {Re} HAPPENING event April 9. Visit rehappening.com for details.

See more of Elmer's work at www.flatbedsplendor