The Smoke House
A Performance by Melinda Gibson
@Unseen Amsterdam
18 September 2014
SPBH Editions presents artist Melinda Gibson’s latest performance in conjunction with the release of her latest book SPBH Book Club Vol VI.
SPBH Book Club VI is a forensic and artistic exploration of loss and renewal by Melinda Gibson. During a fire at her South London studio, Gibson watched as smoke and water poured into the space. In the aftermath, she combed through what remained, analysing and collecting material and drawing it together in the form of a book. The making of the book itself became for Gibson a cathartic process of survival.
In a live performance, Gibson invites audiences to take part in the smoke press; four handmade smokehouses continually smoking books. In a ritualistic act of defiance, each book is ‘smoked’ by Gibson – each one becoming a unique, sensorial object offering an experience that transcends the pages of the book.
Melinda Gibson is a British artist based in London. She is a Lecturer in Photography at Nottingham Trent University and has published two books, The Photograph As Contemporary Art and Miss Titus Becomes A Regular Army Mac. Both publications are held in a number of public and private collections including those of The National Art Library and the V&A Museum. Gibson has exhibited internationally, including shows at Dong Gang Museum of Photography in South Korea and the Houston Centre of Photography. Gibson’s latest project, Lunar Caustic debuts in a trio show at Galerie Paris-Beijing in September.