Heather Hunter Books

Altered Books

These images are of the following artists books:

Insectarium (two images)

Falling Leaves (one image)

Medieval Falconry (two images)

Perfect type of Womanhood (three images)

Insectarium

As a way of altering this book I decided to cut the insects from the book. While doing this I thought about book lice and how they would be friends with all the insects I was creating. From this came an insectarium with the book as food creating very intelligent insects!

Falling Leaves

Tumbling leaves to contemplate and relax. A book made of gelatine printed pages then cut so the leaves fall.

(Full view, then a detailed view.)

Medieval Falconry

The original book is a series of essays about Anglo Saxon England. I have taken one essay about a Sutton Hoo brooch find that suggests falconry was taking place at the time of the burial. Made into a pop- up book showing the process of medieval training of birds.

Perfect type of womanhood

‘What is a perfect type of womanhood?’ asks an essay in the original book. Shakespeare’s heroines shown here as paper dolls. The Victorian critics had their say: abnormal, unfeminine, too independent of mind. Contrast this with pantomime dames, men dressed as women, also shown as paper dolls. Modern critics say: unflattering to woman, sexist. That’s show business through the ages.