Through the looking-glass
Year: 2004
Author: Lewis Carroll (1832 - 1898)
Artist: Didier Mutel 1971
The artist Didier Mutel has not only made his own version of Lewis Caroll's Alice's adventures in Wonderland, but also of the sequel Through the looking-glass.
A crimson coloured parallel universe
This edition also underwent the same complex series of processes as Mutel's version of Alice's adventures in Wonderland, though on this occasion crimson was the single colour used for all the etchings and pages. Mutel produced 50 etchings for this book; the edition comprised 51 copies. Inspired by the title, he decided to print all the texts of this book as mirror images (done with a click of the mouse when using digital techniques). As a result, the reader finds himself in a parallel universe as well: he has to fetch a mirror if he wants to read the text properly.
Read more: Alice's adventures in Wonderland
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Through the looking-glass, pages 64-65
Bibliographical description
Description: Through the looking-glass, and what Alice found there / by Lewis Carroll ; with 50 ill. after John Tenniel and 50 copper plate engravings by Didier Mutel. – Paris : Didier Mutel, 2004. – 224 p., [50] bl. pl. : ill. ; 38 cm.
Printer: Didier Mutel (Paris)
Edition: 51 copies
This copy: Number 24/40 of 51 on Arches and Sekishu-Shi
Note: Texts printed as mirror images; uncut; with cassette; signed by the artist
Shelfmark: KW KOOPM E 96
References
- Marie Akar, ‘Didier Mutel. Graveur et artiste du livre’, in: Art & métiers du livre, 285 (juillet-août 2011), p. 40-51
- Paul van Capelleveen, 'Didier Mutel', in: Artists & others. The imaginative French book in the 21st century. Koopman Collection, National Library of the Netherlands. Nijmegen, Vantilt Publishers, 2016, p. 70-77
- Paul van Capelleveen and Ruth R. Rogers, 'Didier Mutel, Atelier Didier Mutel', in: Materialia Lumina. Contemporary Artists’ Books from the CODEX International Book Fair. Berkeley, CA: The CODEX Foundation; Stanford: Stanford Libraries, Stanford University, 2022, p. 129-140
- Johanna Drucker, ‘The art of the written image’, in: Johanna Drucker, Figuring the word. essays on books, writing, and visual poetics. New York City, Granary Books, 1998, p. 57-75
- Didier Mutel, ‘A mythical animal encountered in unknown lands’, in: The artist book in a global world. A workshop in Poestenkill, New York, August 2002. (Wulf D. von Lucius, Gunnar A. Kaldewey, Eds.). Stuttgart, Lucius & Lucius, 2003, p. 19-32
- Timothy Young, ‘If it is beautiful, it is useful: a few words for Didier Mutel and his unheeded manifesto’, in: Didier Mutel, Acide brut manifesto. Berkeley, CA., Codex Foundation, 2011, p. 3-7
- Timothy Young, ‘Meet Captain Acid’, [published 11 October 2014, website: ‘The Design Observer Group’]