ode to the book [b**k is a four-letter word]

In this experimental artist book I deconstructed and reinterpreted visually Pablo Neruda’s poem “Ode to the Book”. I used pop-ups, typography, and materials to transform the book into a labyrinth or a spider web, aiming at communicating in a multisensory way my personal obsession with literature and book design. A red thread runs across all of the book spreads… is it Arianne’s thread leading to the exit of the labyrinth? Or is it an unbreakable link, that keeps the book-lover captivated forever?

olyff / clotilde

I love the work of Clotilde Olyff – a belgian type designer and artist.

Many years ago, as a bachelor of arts student, I found her email address online. I wrote her. She kindly replied. Before I knew it, I was en route to Bruxelles with two fellow design students to meet her and visit her studio. From this meeting, our little artist book was born.

Objectivity and subjectivity, bound together in a two-sided book. One part begins when the other finishes, creating an endless portrait. “Olyff”, is an analysis of her works, and “Clotilde”, the transcript of the interview, where the designer about her works and her life.

The layout is minimal, based on a 3×3 modules grid and the text is experimentally placed on it always in a different way, so as to express the modular – yet playful – logic represented in Olyff’s works.