Radha Pandey, Deep Time, wood engraving, natural dyeing, letterpress printing, hand cutting, edition of 35 6” x 4.25” closed.

Artist Statement: Deep Time has been letterpress printed on kozo dyed with cloves and indigo. The imagery engraved in wood has been adapted from contour maps of the Himalayan range, and the cut shapes are the boundaries of the highest physical features of our planet, namely the Tibetan plateau (China, Tibet and India); the Kanza’gyal mountain range (east Asia); and the Andes mountain range (western South America).

The shapes cut into each sheet move slightly on each page so that when the book is collapsed, one can see through the cavernous space created by these forms, resembling a physical elevation or contour map. Depending on which way the book is read, these cut shapes appear to sediment on one side, and erode on the other, with the reader physically participating in these natural processes as they progress through the book. The loose pages sit in a box with deep recesses to accommodate this movement.